The Deutsche Bank is the second event of the Fedex Cup playoffs that end with the Tour Championships in three weeks’ time. Hunter Mahan won the opening event (The Barclays) in impressive fashion, storming through the field on Sunday and now looks a likely pick for the US Ryder Cup team. This tournament features the one hundred players remaining in the Fedex Cup field which will be reduced to seventy at the end of the event. This tournament runs from Friday to Sunday, the final day being Labor Day.
It is expected that ninety eight of the one hundred players still in the Fedex Cup will tee up this week (Dustin Johnson is out and Jason Dufner is a major doubt). That being said, the field features Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson.
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The Deutsche Bank Championship is played at TPC Boston, the course being 7,241 yards long with a par of 72. TPC Boston was originally designed by Arnold Palmer and was redesigned by Gil Hansen and Brad Faxon in 2007. The course record is 61 and is held jointly by Vijay Singh and Mike Weir, both shooting 61.
Henrik Stenson won the event last year; two shots clear of his nearest rival in Steve Stricker. Graham DeLaet, Kevin Stadler, Sergio Garcia, Matt Kuchar and Jordan Spieth all finished within five shots. In 2012, Rory McIlroy won by a shot from Louis Oosthuizen, with Tiger Woods a further shot back. Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson finished joint 4th.
Jason Day – Day finished 13th here last year and is a player moving into form at the right time. His joint runner up spot last week took him to 7th in the both the Fedex Cup standings and the World Rankings. Day had three consecutive 67’s here last year and finished 13th. In a season ruined through injury, Day has still managed three top two finishes in just twelve events.
Henrik Stenson – Stenson has had a solid season without quite hitting the heights of last year. In his 19 events this year he has finished in the top ten seven times but is yet to register a win in 2014. This could change this week as Stenson won here last year – the Swede needing a good result to push him up from 66th in the Fedex Cup standings.
Rickie Fowler – With six straight top ten finishes Fowler is possibly the most consistent player on the tour right now. Fowler is up to a career high 11th in the World Rankings and also sits 11th in the Fedex Cup standings. Despite not having a great record at this tournament, Fowler is a different player this year so expect another good week.
Patrick Reed – Reed has won twice already this year and is coming back to form after something of a mid-season slump. He shot a 65 on Sunday to propel himself up the leaderboard at the Barclays, and has now had two top ten finishes in his last four outings. His confidence will have been boosted by qualification for the US Ryder Cup team.
Graham DeLaet – DeLaet is a player who is having something of a mixed season with five missed cuts and five top ten finishes this year so far. Interestingly, his missed cuts have always seen him bounce back the next week, with three top ten finishes after a missed cut in this wraparound PGA tour season. He missed the cut last week, so this could be a blessing this week. He also finished third here last year.
Morgan Hoffman – Sleeper Hoffman sneaked into the Fedex Cup playoffs in 124th place and wasn’t expected to make week two of the playoffs. However a top ten finish at the Barclays have seen him rise to 72nd in the Fedex Cup standings. This momentum could see this popular player have another good week and could be a good pick for a low salary.
Andres Romero – Sleeper Romero is a player for whom great things were expected but they never quite materialized, with Romero slipping down the world rankings to a low of 282nd from a high of 21st in 2008. Romero is finally finding some form, with seven straight cuts made and has sneaked into the top 100 in the Fedex Cup Standings despite being outside at the beginning of last week. Romero is now back in the top 200 in the World Rankings.
John Huh – Sleeper Huh is a player with a solid record at this tournament – 22nd last year and 51st the year before. This pick is something of a gamble as he is either very good or very bad having missed the cut in 12 of his 23 events this year and two top three finishes. Currently 86th in the Fedex Cup Standings, he needs a good week to progress.
The early betting sees Rory McIlroy lead the market again this week. Adam Scott is second in the betting, ahead of a chasing pack that includes Sergio Garcia, Jim Furyk, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar and Hunter Mahan.