Big Three make plenty of noise in Boston

NORTON, Mass. -- Sociologists have a new clinical test case to consider.

For years, researchers have studied mob mentality and group dynamics, trying to figure out what prompts clusters of people do things in unison, be it good or bad, that they might not have done when alone.

The matching 64s by Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are the low rounds of the day. (Getty Images)

While Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh are certainly capable of running away with a tournament on their own, the most powerful trio in the game indisputably shadowed each other for two days at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

This time, the results bordered on happy group hysteria.

After taking a collective, colossal header in the opening round of the Deutsche Bank Championship, which marked the first time the Big Three had been paired in an official tour event, the trio blew holes in TPC Boston in Saturday's second round, finishing a combined 19 under.

They moved, en masse, up the board, with thousands of noisy Bostonians cheering and jeering them along. That marks a 22-shot improvement over their underwhelming opening round, mind you.

"You get in those groups when you all feed off one another, when you're all going low, all making birdies, those are fun pairings to get in," said Woods, who matched Mickelson for the day with a 7-under 64.

Group harvesting is nothing unusual on the tour, of course. Mojo sometimes rubs off, sometimes for the better, sometimes for worse. Even Singh, who shot 74 in the first round, rallied with a 66.

"That was more how we thought we'd play," the Fijian said.

The recovery for Woods and Singh, in particular, was impressive. After he bogeyed his 10th hole, Woods was right on the projected cutline at even par. Then he played his final eight holes in 6 under, including an eagle on the par-4 fourth hole, where he'd made an ugly double-bogey a day earlier.

"Like Stevie said, 6-2, perfect," Woods deadpanned of his conversation with caddie Steve Williams.

It was gang engorgement, a feeding frenzy. Mickelson, ever the smirking wise guy, suggested that Woods might have been motivated to pick up his pace after Lefty started a torrid run in the middle of the round, when he played an eight-hole stretch in a blistering 7 under.

"I think Tiger got a little upset there when I got on that streak because he started out 6 under in his next six holes," Mickelson said, his math exactly right.