Tiger Woods has had a great 2005 so far, and it could get even better this week at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Woods has an amazing six-point lead in the world rankings after regaining the top spot from Vijay Singh earlier this season. Tiger comes into Boston this week off the heels of a win at Firestone two weeks ago in the WGC-NEC Invitational. Add to that the fact Woods finished second in this event last year.
The man that beat Tiger and rest of the field last year at the Deutsche Bank Championship was Vijay Singh. Singh outplayed Woods en route to moving into the top spot in the world rankings for the first time in his career. Vijay was planning on defending this week in Boston, but that unfortunately isn’t going to be the case. Singh pulled out of the tournament on Tuesday because of back spasms. He hurt his back while playing table tennis with his son.
Vijay had this to say about not being able to play this week. “I have always defended a title on the PGA Tour and I am greatly disappointed I won’t be able to do so in Boston,” Singh said. “This tournament is very special to me and I hope to return to Boston in 2006. I hope they have a great tournament this weekend. I only wish I was there.”
This disappointing news means the fans won’t get to see another Tiger/Vijay battle in Boston. Last year, Singh finished at -16 overall, three shots clear of Woods and Adam Scott. John Rollins and Daniel Chopra rounded out the top five, finishing six shots back at -10.
Enough about last year, it’s time for the 2005 version. Tiger is the only golfer in the field this week ranked in the top-10 in the world rankings. Davis Love III will be teeing it up in Boston this week, and he is coming off a couple solid tournaments in the last month. Love III is starting to show signs of returning to prominence after finishing in a tie for fourth at the PGA Championship and a tie for 13th at the WGC-NEC Invitational.
Brad Faxon was the winner on the PGA Tour this past weekend, and he will be playing the Deutsche Bank Championship this week as well. Faxon birdied the first playoff hole last week at the Buick Championship to defeat Tjaart van der Walt. Tjaart van der Walt will also be playing this week in Boston. Faxon, on the other hand, has been playing good golf since the British Open and will be a favorite this week as well.
Other notables in the field include Justin Leonard, Fred Couples, and Sean O’Hair. Leonard and Couples were picked by Jack Nicklaus as captain’s picks for the upcoming President’s Cup team, and both golfers have been playing decent golf in 2005. Leonard has two wins on the season, and Couples has a couple top-five finishes to speak of. O’Hair has been playing good the last few months, and he has a victory on his resume’ in 2005.
The Deutsche Bank Championship will be Jason Gore’s second tournament since returning to the PGA Tour. Gore earned a battlefield promotion from the Nationwide Tour by winning three tournaments in a row. The ever-popular Gore played the Buick Championship last week and finished in a tie for 73rd. He will be looking to improve on that finish this time around.
The TPC of Boston will be the host-course this week. The layout measures 7,415 yards and par is 71. The two finishing holes will definitely be exciting as the week progresses, as both of them are birdie holes for sure. The 17th hole is a 420-yard par 4 that requires a very accurate tee shot. There are bunkers guarding the fairway on the left. The players who hit their ball in the fairway off the tee will have a great chance for birdie. There are no bunkers around the green, so the approach shot will be wide open.
The finishing hole is 543-yard par 5 that can yield great scores if played properly. The tee shot will be over water and will have to avoid rock croppings and bunkers to be safe. The players who carry the bunker on the left can go for the green in two. The rest of the field will have to play the hole as a three-shotter. Two good shots to start the hole will leave a short wedge, however, and good scores are inevitable in those situations as well. This hole should definitely provide a lot of excitement all week.
Last week, I picked Charles Howell III to win the Buick Championship, and he didn’t even make the cut. He has dissapointed me on numerous occasions, and I should have known better. This week, I’m just going with the smart choice by picking Tiger Woods. He is by far the best golfer in the world right now, and there aren’t any players in the field that can match his strengths this week. I think he could even win by five or more shots. For my “sleeper” pick, I’m going with Arjun Atwal. Atwal has quietly put together a good season, and I think his game fits this course nicely.
The weather forecast for this week should be pretty clear. There are small chances for precipitation on Sunday and Monday, but the chances are very slim. The highs should be in the mid-70s to the mid-80s for the week. The field will be playing for a $5.5 million purse, with $990,000 going to the winner. Also, the Deutsche Bank Championship is the first event on the PGA Tour’s Fall Finish.
This tournament was very exciting last year, but the field is a littler weaker this time around. And the withdrawal of Vijay Singh doesn’t help matters either. That being said, Tiger is still making an appearance, and there are some other notables in the field as well. The tournament starts on Friday and ends on Monday, which is different than most weeks. The Deutsche Bank Championship can be seen on USA and ABC this week at the following times:
Fri 5-7pm ET USA Sat 3-6pm ET USA Sun 5-7pm ET ABC Mon 3-6pm ET ABC
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