Deutsche Bank Championship preview

The PGA Tour travels to the TPC Boston this week for the Deutsche Bank Championship and the second leg of the lucrative FedEx Cup playoffs.

Vijay Singh defends
Fergus Bisset
By
published

Lowdown: The PGA Tour travels to the TPC Boston this week for the Deutsche Bank Championship and the second leg of the lucrative FedEx Cup playoffs. After a second place finish at The Barclays last week, Tiger Woods leads the points list from Steve Stricker with Heath Slocum in third. Last year’s Deutsche Bank winner Vijay Singh is in 78th place and has some serious work to do if he’s to claim the $10 million first prize for the second time. Following this week the top 70 on the FedEx Cup points list will be eligible for next week’s BMW Championship. The Deutsche Bank is one of the youngest tournaments on the PGA Tour beginning its life in 2003. Since then it’s produced some notable champions. Adam Scott won the inaugural event and Messrs Singh, Woods and Mickelson have all tasted victory at TPC Boston since then. Played over Labor Day weekend the tournament finishes on Monday. Labor Day is a holiday celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer. The TPC Boston opened for play in June 2002, it’s a private members’ course designed by Arnold Palmer course design.

Venue: TPC Boston, Massachusetts Date: September 4-7 Course stats: par 71, 7,207 yards Purse: $7,000,000 Winner: $1,260,000 Defending Champion: Vijay Singh (-22)

TV Coverage: Friday 4 - Live on British Eurosport 2 from 8pm Saturday 5 - Live on British Eurosport 2 from 8pmSunday 6 - Live on British Eurosport 2 from 8pm Monday 7 - Live on British Eurosport 2 from 7pm

Player Watch: Tiger Woods – The World Number 1 has two victories and two second place finishes in his last four starts. Questions have been asked following his poor last round at the USPGA and missed putts through the last round of The Barclays so Woods will be out to prove his doubters wrong. Padraig Harrington – The Irishman seems to be right back on form and, had it not been for a second round 75 last week, he would have won The Barclays with something to spare. Vijay Singh – The defending champion has a superb record at the TPC Boston: Two wins and two further top-four finishes in the last five years. He has to win this week if he’s to have any chance of retaining the FedEx Cup so look for a concerted effort from the Fijian.

Key hole: 18th. It’s a par 5 of just 528 yards. The longer hitters will carry the fairway bunkers and leave themselves a fairway wood or long iron to the green. The very longest hitters will carry the bunker on the right off the tee and be left with just a mid-iron in.

Skills required: Power. The longer hitters always dominate at TPC Boston. Mickelson, Woods and Singh have all won in the last five years.

Where Next?

European Tour: Omega European Masters preview Betting: Omega European Masters betting guide

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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