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Garcia vs. Woods would be FedEx Cup delivering

Sergio Garcia continues to divide golf fans © Getty Images

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Disclaimer - By the time you read this Sergio Garcia may have shot 87 in his final round at the Deutsche Bank Championship and blown himself out of the FedEx Cup playoffs altogether.

Sergio's in the mix. He's not just in the mix; he's outright leading the second FedEx Cup playoff event with 18 holes to play, having gone 65-64-65 at TPC Boston.

Should he win, and it's always a big 'should he' with El Nino, Garcia stands to leap from 52nd in the standings to inside the top five. Based on the PGA Tour's live projection at the time of writing, he would land at 3rd, behind Adam Scott and Tiger Woods.

If that happens, and for the sake of sporting narrative we should pray it does, the FedEx Cup will suddenly feel a lot more vital. The BMW Championship, in two weeks, will be handed a script the sponsors could barely have dreamed up themselves.

Garcia and Woods, as everybody knows, can't stand each other. Sergio's "fried chicken" remark at The Players handed Tiger an even greater share of the public jury, and we've yet to see the two men walk side by side on the golf course since.

© Getty Images

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US Open, Open Championship and US PGA Championship organisers all bottled the chance to provocatively pair them for the first two rounds. Both men were no doubt relieved it didn't happen as a result of their scorecards in rounds three and four.

Imagine if fate delivered Woods and Garcia vying for the $10 million FedEx Cup jackpot come the Tour Championship in Atlanta. Imagine if Woods and Garcia somehow transcended the complex formulas and equations of the playoffs to give us what golf has been lacking this year - a classic duel.

We've seen some fine individual performances in the majors, but have we seen a genuine prize fight between two big hitters in a tournament that really mattered?

A lot has to happen to get us there, but Woods vs. Garcia is a tantalising prospect with a backstory so strong it would be hard to resist tuning in. Aside from the history between them, the stakes are huge for both men.

Did you know? Sergio Garcia is one of just five #PGATOUR players that hasn't missed a putt from inside 3' all year? (416-for-416). #FedExCup

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 2, 2013

Woods needs the success badly - both to rebuild his confidence and also to answer the questions about his year being a disappointment. Garcia has been showing signs of his old self again and would make a spectacular statement of intent if he walked away with the bounty.

Garcia's emotions have always been fragile and the "fried chicken" scandal hit him hard. To his credit, he's said sorry in every way possible and it's time we all moved on.

What better way for Garcia to propel things in a new direction than with a win at Boston followed by an authentic challenge to Tiger, Scott and Co. in the FedExCup play-offs?

If it all comes down to Woods vs. Garcia, the suits at FedEx will be almost as happy as I will.

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