This week the top 100 players in the FedExCup point standings are expected to compete in the 2013 Deutsche Bank Championship in cooperation with EMC at TPC Boston which will be the second of four events in the PGA TOUR’S FedExCup Playoffs.
Adam Scott won the Barclays, but Tiger Woods remains the points leader. Woods, hampered by back spasms at The Barclays, rallied to tie for second. He has accumulated 4,009 FedExCup points. Rounding out the top 10 are Scott (3,847); Phil Mickelson (2,624); Matt Kuchar (2,540); Justin Rose (2,397); Brandt Snedeker (2,218); Graham DeLaet (1,806); Bill Haas (1,718); Jordan Spieth (1,684); and Gary Woodland (1,633).
The winner of the Deutsche Bank Championship will receive 2,500 points and a first-place check of $1,440,000. The top 70 players in the FedExCup points standings after the Deutsche Bank Championship will advance to the next playoff event in the BMW Championship, Sept. 12-15 at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Ill. Following that event, the top 30 on the points list qualify for the TOUR Championship, Sept. 19-22 at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga., where the overall winner receives $10 million.
Woods won the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2006 and has never finished lower than 11th in nine starts. Twice, he has shot 63 in the final round, and has carded par-or-better 26 of 32 times. Woods has recorded a PGA TOUR-best five victories this season, bringing his career total to 79, three behind all-time leader Sam Snead. He is the only player to win the FedExCup more than once. Woods also entered as the playoffs leader in 2007 and 2009, and went on to win both years.
Scott, who captured the Masters earlier this year for his first major title, is one of only five players with multiple wins this year. He moved up nine places on the FedExCup points list after Sunday’s triumph and has played well at the Deutsche Bank Championship, collecting five top 10 finishes, including a win in 2003.
Mickelson also has two wins this year, highlighted by the Open Championship last month. He is one of 19 players to have won five or more major titles. Mickelson won the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2007 and has produced three top 10 showings in the tournament, tying for 10th in 2011 and tying for fourth last year.
Kuchar’s two victories this year have come at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and the Memorial Tournament. He will make his 10th career start at the Deutsche Bank Championship, and his best finishes were a tie for 15th in 2009 and a tie for 11th in 2011.
Rose also recorded his first major championship this year, winning the U.S. Open at Merion. He also secured runner-up finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Barclays. This marks his 10th appearance at the Deutsche Bank Championship, where he finished third in 2003 and tied for fourth in 2006.
Rory McIlroy is the defending DBC champion. Last year, he shot rounds of 65-65-67-67 to edge Louis Oosthuizen by one stroke, joining Scott and Vijay Singh (2004) as the only international winners.
This week’s field includes five rookies: Spieth, Russell Henley, David Lingmerth, Luke Guthrie and Derek Ernst. Only five rookies have advanced to the TOUR Championship, and all went on to earn PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year: John Huh (2012); Keegan Bradley (2011); Marc Leishman (2009); Andres Romero (2008); and Snedeker (2007).
TPC Boston opened in 2002 and was designed by Arnold Palmer. Five years later, Gil Hanse and Brad Faxon did an extensive remodel that has been well-received by the players. The course measures 7,207 yards and par is 71.
Proceeds from the tournament benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation’s college-access programs including the Earl Woods Scholarship Program and Tiger Woods Learning Centers, as well as local New England charities.
– See more at: New England Golf Monthly
New England Golf Monthly is the #1 read golf publication in the New England region serving the interest of the Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine golf communities as well as the organizations in support of the game such as the New England PGA. Their mission is to supply readers, associations and advertisers with multiple forums to share information and grow the game of golf.
