NORTON, Mass., Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Troy Matteson, who barely qualified for the second leg of the PGA Tour playoffs, grabbed the lead Friday after one round of the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Matteson shot a 6-under 65 over the TPC-Boston course and gave himself a chance to rocket up the points list standings in the race for the FedEx Cup and its accompanying $10 million.
Only the leading 100 point earners were eligible to start this week's tournament and Matteson ranked 97th after missing the cut last week in the first of the four playoff events.
A win this week would likely boost him into the Top 5 and ensure his presence in the 30-player field that will battle for the FedEx Cup at the Tour Championship this month.
Matteson had a one-shot lead over Jerry Kelly, Y.E. Yang, current Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and world No. 1 Luke Donald.
Among those tied for sixth at 67 were Nick Watney and Jonathan Byrd.
Dustin Johnson, who took over the FedEx Cup points lead last week with a victory at The Barclays, was part of the group at 68. So was newly crowned PGA champion Keegan Bradley and the man he beat in the playoff to win that title -- Jason Dufner.
Phil Mickelson, using a long putter in competition for the first time in his career, shot a 70 by making a birdie at the final hole.
Matteson has two victories in his career, both at the Frys.com Open, and he has been struggling with his game throughout this season.
"I would have said if I could have kept it under 80, I would have been doing pretty good," Matteson said. "If I don't play well, I'm not going to play (in the next playoff tournament)."
