Woods just about owns FedEx Cup

ATLANTA -- It has taken 33 weeks of regular tournaments and three more weeks of playoffs to reach today’s grand finale of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup, but in reality, it’s over. And the winner? Who else but Tiger Woods?

Actually, even after Woods torched East Lake Country Club once again Saturday, there’s still a slight mathematical chance that Woods won’t win the $10-million FedEx Cup bonus at the $7-million Tour Championship.

It’s this slight: Phil Mickelson, who is 13 shots behind Woods, has to shoot, say, 55, and win, while Woods must shoot par and finish no better than third.

You’d get better odds that Sergio Garcia would shoot 64 and pick up no ground. That happened Saturday. Or that Mark Calcavecchia would shoot 63 and gain exactly one shot. That happened too. Or that Zach Johnson would shoot 60 and be six shots behind Woods. You get the idea.

Woods lipped out a seven-foot birdie putt at the last hole and still finished with a six-under-par 64. His 54-hole total of 191 is 19 under par, a three-round tournament record at East Lake. That’s worth a three-shot lead over Calcavecchia, a five-shot lead over Garcia and a virtually unassailable position as the champion of the first FedEx Cup.

Meanwhile, there’s this tournament business to think about winning. Calcavecchia isn’t optimistic about his chances against Woods.

“He’s 19 under, so I’ve got to beat him by four tomorrow,” he said. “Not likely.”

Without some major upheaval, the points just don’t add up any way except for Woods in this inaugural $63-million FedEx Cup playoff series. Mickelson is the only player with even a remote chance at beating out Woods, but with only two birdies Saturday, he failed to take advantage of the defenseless layout.

As for the degree of difficulty at Bobby Jones’ boyhood course, lets just say it was set about as high as the blades of the fairway mowers.

Even Woods thought so.

“I can’t remember too many golf courses that have been easier than this one.”

Woods had seven birdies and one bogey, when he hit a five-iron into a green-side bunker at the seventh and couldn’t get it up and down. That was a rare slip up, because Woods kept hitting it close, taking advantage of the soft greens. The longest birdie putt he made was his last, a 12-footer at the 16th.

“When you get greens this soft and pins this easy and the greens this slow, you’re going to have to make a bunch of birdies,” Woods said. “You just go after it.”

Johnson’s chance for a 59 came down to the last hole. He said it’s a number he has thought about.

“You usually hit 59, but it’s by about hole 15 or 16,” Johnson said. “It was a lot of fun. We just had everything going our way.”

Johnson, who had played his last five holes in four under, had a chance at a 59 as he reached the tee at the par-three, 223-yard 18th. Playing into a slight right to left wind, Johnson chose a 2-iron.

“He said he was nervous,” said Damon Green, Johnson’s caddie. “I said ‘Why?’ I guess he was just glad to get it in the air, I don’t know.”

Green said the 2-iron was the right club and that he and Johnson thought the wind would take it into the green. Instead, the ball landed in a bunker on the right.

He knocked it out to about two feet from the hole, and then rolled in the putt for par and his 60.

Somehow, Geoff Ogilvy managed to get lost in all the low numbers, even though he shot an eight-under 62. Ogilvy began the day tied for 22nd and moved all the way up into a tie for seventh. He had 10 birdies and picked up exactly one shot on Woods.

“Ten birdies is a lot to have anywhere,” Ogilvy said. “I’ve got to get in on the action. Everyone is going to have a lot of birdies.

“Today I think it’s the easiest greens I’ve ever putted on. . . . As long as you hit it anywhere around the pin, they’re going to go in.”

Woody Austin began the day three shots behind Woods and ended it eight shots back. It could have been more, because of an incident on the 15th hole when Austin missed a putt, then seemed to stub his putter behind the ball before tapping it in.

Austin was visited by a rules official and said he had not intended to knock the ball in when he stuck his putter in the ground. Woods said he watched the episode and said Austin didn’t do anything wrong.

Austin, who birdied the last hole for a 69, is in sixth place, one shot behind Hunter Mahan and one shot ahead of Ogilvy and Padraig Harrington.

Meanwhile, there is still the matter remaining of winning this tournament, even if the FedEx Cup money is all but deposited in Woods’ account.

Woods is 40-3 when holding at least a share of the 54-hole lead and has never lost when leading by more than one shot after three rounds.

Woods said he isn’t counting his bonus money yet.

“If I lost the tournament and win the FedEx Cup, I don’t think I’m going to be happy that I’ve lost the tournament,” he said.

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thomas.bonk@latimes.com