ST. LOUIS - Padraig Harrington was about the only one not complaining that a double major champion could not qualify for the Tour Championship, blaming only himself for missing consecutive cuts at the start of the PGA Tour Playoffs.

His biggest letdown? Realizing he couldn't win the Vardon Trophy.

Harrington figured he was safe playing the minimum 15 events on the PGA Tour. But he missed the cut three times, and finished the year with only 52 rounds. Players must complete 60 rounds to be eligible for the Vardon Trophy for lowest adjusted scoring average.

"I didn't know that," Harrington said with a mixture of surprise and disappointment. "I was trying to win that award. I would consider that a big deal to have the lowest scoring average."

At least there will be one compelling race at the end of the year.

Going into the Tour Championship next week, Phil Mickelson leads with a 69.52 scoring average, with Sergio Garcia one-hundredth of a point behind at 69.53. Right behind are Vijay Singh and Anthony Kim, tied at 69.62. Harrington, who was leading until he tied for 55th in the BMW Championship, slipped to fifth place at 69.67, but it's a moot point now.

Mickelson has never won a major postseason award, and this might be his best chance. So even though Singh has effectively wrapped up the FedEx Cup, Lefty will have something at stake at the Tour Championship.

DEFINITION OF A ROOKIE: Depending on what happens the final two months of the season, Andres Romero figures to be a lock for PGA Tour rookie of the year.

Romero and Chez Reavie are the only rookies to have won this year -- Romero in New Orleans, Reavie at the Canadian Open -- but the Argentine is among 11 players to have made the cut in all four majors this year, including top 10s in the Masters and the PGA Championship.

FINAL TUNEUP: The PGA Tour has gone dark this week -- the first time since 1989 that there was a week off during the season -- but that doesn't mean everyone in the Ryder Cup is taking a breather.

Four players from Europe are in the field for the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Germany -- Soren Hansen, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Graeme McDowell and Robert Karlsson.

DIVOTS: This is one time Tiger Woods really was "beatable as ever." Rory Sabbatini finished at No. 69 in the FedEx Cup standings, 177 points ahead of Woods at No. 70. Then again, Sabbatini played in three playoff events and made two cuts. Woods has not played at all since the U.S. Open.

* This will be the first time in Tiger Woods' career that he was not eligible for the Tour Championship. He still earned $110,000 for finishing 70th in the standings.

* Eleven players have reached the Tour Championship both years of the FedEx Cup -- Vijay Singh, Camilo Villegas, Sergio Garcia, Jim Furyk, K.J. Choi, Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Stewart Cink, Hunter Mahan, Robert Allenby and Ernie Els.

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.