Deutsche Bank Championship Roundtable Preview

The PGA Tour Playoffs roll on to the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston this week. The top 100 players on the FedExCup points list are in the field, and only 70 will advance to the BMW Championship next week.

Last year at the Deutsche Bank Championship, Steve Stricker (pictured) pulled off a late push to win the tournament with style, finishing with a final-round 67 after sinking two clutch putts for a one-shot victory.

Arriving on the 17th hole, Stricker was one shot back of then-leaders Jason Dufner and Scott Verplank. Stricker proceeded to hit his approach shot to within 15 feet on 17, and then stuffed the birdie putt to take the lead.

Then on the par-5 18th Stricker nailed a drive straight down the middle of the fairway, pounded a hybrid approach shot 234 yards and through the green. His chip shot came to rest within a few feet of the cup, leaving Stricker a tap-in to win.

The victory moved Stricker to a career-high No. 2 world ranking and allowed him to eventually finish third in the FedExCup. "It's been a lot of fun," said Stricker, "It's a lot of fun getting in contention like that, and it's even more fun when you can pull it off like I did today."

And then there was Padraig Harrington.

---

---

The three-time major champion held the lead at 16 under when he made the turn, then came apart. Paddy made bogey on 10 and double-bogey on 12, both resulting from poor drives that incurred penalty strokes.

This year, Tiger Woods is on the bubble for next week's BMW Championship and a hurricane could swoop in and knock the whole tournament off its feet. How will the storm affect the tournament? What must Tiger do to qualify for the BMW? The answers, and of course, our picks are all in this week's FanHouse golf roundtable.

QUICK FIX

As the FedExCup playoff series moves into its second week, the field is down to 100 players. The top 70 on the points list after Monday's final round move on to next week's BMW Championship in Chicago -- assuming there is golf played.

Hurricane Earl, projected by the National Hurricane Center to make its way up northeastern seaboard and into the New England area by Saturday, could wipe out all plans. Or it could make an easterly turn and only be excessively annoying by peppering the area with winds and spotty showers from feeder bands.

"We are monitoring the weather and discussing preparation and contingency plans with the tournament, should the need arise," said tour spokesperson Laura Hill.

Either way, it's hard not to see the event impacted, which is less than ideal circumstances for a postseason event. But it does add an interesting subplot: can Earl make his way into the BMW?

Any player currently among the top 14 on the points list can take the lead with a victory, Any player currently among the top 21 can move into the top five with a fifth-place finish or better.
-- Mick Elliott

My Name is Earl: Hurricane Earl could wreak havoc on Friday's first round of the tournament. The storm is expected to reach Massachusetts at some point on Friday, and, according to forecasts, it's just a matter of when and how hard it will hit. Keeping their fingers crossed, officials have already moved up tee times 40 minutes to 7 a.m.
-- Matt Romanoski

The storm could be the main factor in the Deutsche Bank Championship, but there are still a lot of top-tier golfers in the field who are looking to jump up the FedExCup list. The players in the field hold 42 career major titles and 27 titles in this season. Two-time 2010 winners Ernie Els (Arnold Palmer Invitational and CA Championship) and reigning champ Steve Stricker (Northern Trust Open and John Deere Classic) are a few of the favorites to keep an eye on.
-- Chris Sesno

TIGER WATCH

Woods is in 65th place on the FedExCup points list, his best ranking all season. He will need between a 52nd and a 57th place finish in Boston to guarantee himself a place in the top 70 that advance to the BMW.

While much will depend on what other players do during the next two weeks, Woods will likely need a pair of eighth-place (or better) finishes or a single third-place (or better) showing to make his way into the 30-man field at the season-ending Tour Championship.

Woods had two good rounds (an opening 65 and a finishing 67) last week, with two days of bad putting in the middle, to finish T12. But he again is finding fairways off the tee (he led The Barclays' field) and is hitting greens.

He may no longer (at least for now) be a dominant player, but it's easy to get a sense that he's on the upswing. Besides there can't be anybody in the field who's more accustomed to being in the middle of a storm.
-- Elliott

After his best round of the year put him atop the leaderboard after the first round of last week's Barclays, Tiger Woods played like, well, Tiger Woods in the second and third rounds to fall out of contention. Still, a 67 on Sunday left him in a tie for 12th, and moved him from 112 to 65th on the FedExCup board. Woods will need to finish 57th or better this week to remain in the top 70 and advance to the BMW championship.

So what's that mean this week? He still isn't playing consistently enough to win -- and who knows where his head's at -- but you have to think he's capable of a top-57 finish ... don't you?
-- Romanoski

Tiger knows the scenarios he needs to advance to the BMW and then to the Tour Championship. He has slowly been piecing together each aspect of his game, it's only a matter of time before he can put those all together again. Last week at The Barclays, he put the driver away to consistently hit fairways off the tee. A couple of bad rounds on the greens were the only things keeping him from a top-five finish.

This week? The No. 1 golfer will play two and a half solid rounds of golf, hitting fairways and greens consistently. But the three-putt will rear its ugly head again, and that will be Tiger's fall from a top-10 finish. I expect him to finish safely in the top 25 and qualify for the BMW.
-- Sesno

STARS AND STINKERS

Statistically, the par-71 TPC Boston ranks as one of the easiest courses on tour from tee to green. Under normal conditions, it takes a lot of birdies to get into the hunt.

It's difficult, however, to go with the usual suspects. Parity had taken over, suggesting the possibility of more surprises. Jason Day arrives fresh off a T10 at the PGA and a fifth last week. Ryan Palmer has two top-5s in his last three events. And rookie Rickie Fowler is going to win sometime soon.

On the other side, Phil Mickelson missed the cut last week. Another bad week and he might not be around to defend his Tour Championship title in Atlanta.
-- Elliott

He's is the defending champion, is playing great (tying for third last week) and is the odds-on favorite. But that's exactly why Steve Stricker, in this most unpredictable of all years, won't win. So who then? Keep an eye on Martin Laird, whose playoff-round, second-place finish last week moved him up 92 places to third in the FedEx playoff race.
-- Romanoski

Phil Mickelson will likely have a tough time with the storming weather. Then again if Earl shows up, success rates will walk hand in hand with luck, as the conditions will vary greatly depending on when players tee off. Louis Oosthuizen was blessed with calm tee times at the British Open, and that helped him build a huge lead and win his first major.

There's no equalizer like a hurricane on a golf course, that is of course, assuming the warning horn stays silent and players can even get to the course.
-- Sesno

TAKE IT TO THE (DEUTSCHE) BANK

Earl. Dude blows away the field.

If not, then believe in karma and Jim Furyk gets an early wakeup call to rebound from last week's DQ.
-- Elliott

Jim Furyk has a pair of top-10 finishes in the last two years at the Deutsche Bank, finishing T8 in 2009 and T7 a year earlier. Provided he doesn't oversleep, he should be ultra-motivated to erase last week's embarrassing blunder.
-- Romanoski

After some stellar play on the weekend, Dustin Johnson was near the top of the leaderboard heading into The Barclays final round. He led the field in both distance off the tee and greens hit, and has placed in the top 15 in the last four events he's played -- including a T5 at the PGA Championship. The big-hitter will sink a few more putts this week at TPC Boston to take home the title.
-- Sesno