NORTON, Mass. Brice Butler Cardinals Jersey . -- On and off the golf course, Tiger Woods didnt look anything like the player who only four days ago dropped to knees with back pain. He took full, powerful swings with the driver at the TPC Boston, and he had no trouble gouging shots from the deep rough. He stooped over without hesitation to remove his tee from the ground or retrieve his golf ball from the cup. Even more telling was the catch. Sitting behind a table at his news conference Thursday, someone tossed Woods a bottle of water from about 25 feet away. The throw was a little wide. Woods instinctively twisted to his right and reached out his hand to grab it. "The back has been ... its a lot better than obviously on Sunday," Woods said at the Deutsche Bank Championship. "It was nice to have that extra day of rest. Having the tournament start on Friday certainly helps. And Ive gotten treatment every day, two to three times a day. And it feels good." It was the third time this year Woods has shown physical discomfort on golf course. An elbow injury forced him to miss two tournaments in the early summer. He was grabbing his lower back in the final round of the PGA Championship. And then at The Barclays last week, after complaining of a stiff lower back from sleeping on a soft mattress in his hotel, Woods fell to his knees on the 13th hole after what he said was a back spasm on his second shot to a par 5. His health figures to be a talking point at the Deutsche Bank Championship, at least until he gets to the 10th tree Friday morning to begin the tournament in the ultimate power grouping -- Woods, British Open champion Phil Mickelson and Masters champion Adam Scott, who not only are Nos. 1-2-3 in the FedEx Cup, but 1-2-3 in the world. Even before he could hit his first tee shot in the pro-am, one of the amateurs asked him about his back. The question was inevitable. The answer was predictable. "Its fine," Woods said. The rest of the round was just like any other. There was no indication of injury, plenty of laughs and even the occasional, "Good shot, Mike," from Woods. He was speaking to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one of his amateur partners. Woods said he had planned to play nine holes, and then only chip and putt on the back nine as a precaution, just as he did last week at Liberty National. "But it felt good, so I continued playing," he said. Woods said the treatment was similar to the strain in his left elbow two months ago -- electric stimulation, ice, ultrasound and massage. Still unclear was whether how much he would be able to practice before and after rounds. Woods said that would be "day to day." "This was the first day I hit balls or swung a club since Sunday," he said. "And it was a pleasant surprise to go out there and play without any discomfort today." That was a good sign, because even for the second of four tournaments, the FedEx Cup playoffs already have turned up a notch. While its traditional for the top three players in the standings to be in the same group for the opening rounds of the playoff events, this is the first time it features the top three players in the world ranking. "Its exciting, I know for me, to have it 1, 2, 3 in the world," Woods said. "It also goes to show you that those are three hottest players in the world." These three players last played together in an opening round in the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, the first time the USGA used the world ranking to group top players. Woods went on to win his 14th major that week while playing on a shattered left knee with two stress fractures. Mickelson played the mighty South Course without a driver. "The buildup to that event was huge," Scott said. "And just to be even the third wheel in that group was really something Ill remember forever. So it might be the same tomorrow. I dont know, but it will be fun no matter what. Were all playing really well this year. So hopefully, we can push each other along and make a lot of birdies, and it will be an enjoyable couple of days." So whos the third wheel now? "It would be me again," Scott said with a laugh. Those three players also are seen as the top candidates as player of the year -- Scott and Mickelson both have a major among their two PGA Tour wins (Mickelson picked up another significant win at the Scottish Open), while Woods has five wins and no majors. Woods is still the heavy favourite, though a FedEx Cup title for Scott and Mickelson might change that. Rory McIlroy is the defending champion, and still looking for his first win this year. Woods, meanwhile, is at a stage of the season where his vernacular has changed. He used to talk about "reps" and "traj" (trajectory) and "the process." These days, hes using terms related to his treatment like "activation" and "firing sequence" and "protocol." Woods is 37 and has four knee operations behind him. Some nagging injuries this year arent a concern. "Its part of playing sports, you know?" Woods said. "We push it and we have little knick-knack injuries that happen. And Ive had plenty of surgeries over the course of my career, starting in 94 when I was in college. So its the nature of what we do as an athlete. I try to do a lot of preventive things, but the nature of it is that were subjecting our bodies to things that probably it wasnt meant to do." Custom Arizona Cardinals Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Florida – Heading into Thursday nights action, Dioner Navarro had caught 14 innings combined from starters Drew Hutchison and Mark Buehrle. Benson Mayowa Cardinals Jersey . Off-season additions Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley did not train with the club today, prompting Nelsen to declare its too early to tell if either will be ready for Saturday. http://www.officialnflcardinalsgear.com/josh-rosen-jersey/ . The Red Wings hadnt played the night before. The Boston Bruins had. A month from now, or two months from now, it doesnt matter. But right now it does matter, when you start and you play back to back, its wear and tear on you for sure, Babcock said. MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Ben Cranes back is OK, and his putter couldnt be working much better. The combination helped him shoot a 5-under 65 on Friday to open a six-stroke lead in the St. Jude Classic before heavy rain delayed play twice and forced the suspension of play for the day. Crane birdied his final hole Thursday night for a 63 and rolled in a 44-footer for birdie to start the second round Friday morning. He had a 12-under 128 total at TPC Southwind, matching the winning score in relation to par last year. "I certainly didnt see this coming," Crane said. "But you know when youre putting well, I started to feel like I was a little more in control of my ball, just felt like I was tightening my draws and fades a little bit. I had access to some holes I havent this year and so gosh, its been an incredible two days." Crane has spent the past six months changing his swing to protect his back. A four-time PGA Tour winner, Cranes last win came in 2011 at the McGladrey Classic and his best finish this year was a tie for ninth in the Humana Challenge in January. But he was in such pain he had a therapist with him for treatment during the round. "Its been a really, really hard year, racking my brain whats going on, whats going wrong and have I changed that much," Crane said. "You start wondering, Am I going to get it back. So this is super encouraging. My wife said last night, looks like you still got it. Because you wonder. But anyway, its been a fun start." Carl Pettersson and Jason Bohn were tied for second at 6 under. Pettersson had one hole left, and Bohn had two to play. Davis Love III (70) and Billy Horschel (68) were in at 5 under. Phil Mickelson and Retief Goosen were unable to start the second round. Mickelson, winless in his last 19 events since the British Open, opened with a 67 on Thursday, and Goosen had a 66. Friday got off to a slow start with 60 players needing to wrap up the first round with the second started 40 minutes later. Lightning delayed play at 1:03 for 59 minutes before play resumed for 13 minutes. Micckelson had just gotten to the tee when the horn blew again. Josh Bynes Cardinals Jersey. Fans were sent home before a severe thunderstorm drenched the course, filling bunkers, fairways and cart paths with water. Finally, play for the day was suspended just before 5 p.m. Players are due back at 7 a.m. so they can make the cut for the third round. Love was glad to be done before the weather moved in even at 5 under, and he doubts Crane will run out to 24 under. This course where John Cook won at 26 under in 1996 was redesigned to a par of 70 after 2004. "So hes off to a great start and well have to run him down," Love said about Crane. "Hes a great putter, and these greens are perfect, so hes got the advantage on us right now, but just hang in there." Crane had perfect timing for most of his rounds. He played most of the first round after the lengthy delay Thursday afternoon, which left nearly perfect scoring conditions with little wind and soft greens. He was in the first group off No. 1 starting the second round, and he birdied rolling in a putt with a break of more than 4 feet for the first of 24 putts. He followed up his opening birdie by sinking a 22-footer for birdie on No. 7. He hit his approach from 147 yards out to 3 feet for birdie on No. 9 to reach 10 under through 27 holes. He sunk a 14-footer on the par-3 11th with the island green before rolling in a 9-footer for birdie on No. 13. His 8-foot birdie on the par-5 16th put him at 13 under. But Crane hit into a bunker on No. 18 and missed a 7-footer to save par on way to his first bogey in two rounds. "How do I keep this going?" Well, certainly just keep doing what Im doing, and hopefully the same game shows up, and obviously continuing to putt well helps your score," Crane said. "I think thats the key. Divots: This was the second straight round where fans were sent home early due to weather. ... Memphis hadnt had a weather delay since 2010 when the first round was suspended due to lightning. ... This is the 16th tour event this season with either a delay or suspension due to weather or darkness. 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