A lot is on the line this weekend in the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC of Boston. In addition to the $8 million purse – $1.44 million of which goes to the winner – valuable FedExCup points are up for grabs, as only those who rank in the top 70 of the FedExCup standings after the tourney move on to play the BMW Championship starting Sept. 12.
But it’s also Labor Day Weekend, which means the start of college football. Just about every Division I school kicks off its season at some point between Thursday and Monday.
So there are also a lot of bragging rights at stake among the PGA pros. They may not all be college football fans, but they’ll take any chance they can get to rib their opponents. If Oklahoma State is struggling against Mississippi State on Saturday afternoon, you think Bubba Watson (whose Georgia Bulldogs play Kyle Stanley’s Clemson Tigers later that night) won’t let his buddies, Hunter Mahan and Rickie Fowler, hear about it as they cross paths?
Based on the preseason Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches polls, here are the golfers who will be in Boston and boast the most smack-talking ammo based on the prowess of their alma mater’s football team:
1) Michael Thompson – Alabama (No. 1 AP/No. 1 USAT)
2) Tiger Woods – Stanford (4/4)
3) Harris English, Bubba Watson, Russell Henry, Chris Kirk, Brian Harman and Erik Compton – Georgia (5/5)
9) Ryan Palmer – Texas A&M (7/6)
10) Kyle Stanley – Clemson (8/8)
11) Billy Horschel, Matt Every, Brian Gay and Camilo Villegas – Florida (10/10)
15) Jonas Blixt – Florida State (11/12)
16) Hunter Mahan, Rickie Fowler, Charles Howell III and Bo Van Pelt – Oklahoma State (13/14)
20) Jordan Spieth, Bob Estes and Justin Leonard – Texas (15/15)
23) Martin Flores – Oklahoma (16/16)
24) Graham DeLaet – Boise State (19/19)
25) John Merrick and Kevin Chappell – UCLA (21/21)
Others receiving votes: Luke Donald – Northwestern (22/22); Kevin Stadler – USC (24/24); Jimmy Walker – Baylor (27/29); Brendon de Jonge – Virginia Tech (28/30); Phil Mickelson, Matt Jones and Pat Perez – Arizona State (30/32); Nick Watney – Fresno State (32/31); Brandt Snedeker – Vanderbilt (33/34); Richard Lee – Washington (34/47); Matt Kuchar, Roberto Castro, Bryce Molder, Cameron Tringale, Nicholas Thompson and Stewart Cink – Georgia Tech (38/NR); Jim Furyk and Rory Sabbatini – Arizona (40/42); Daniel Summerhays – BYU (43/36); David Lingmerth – Arkansas (NR/52).
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