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Tournament: The Deutsche Bank Championship, September 1-4
Course: TPC Boston, 7,297 yards, par 71, Norton, MA (just outside Boston)
Purse: $8,500,000 (winner’s purse $1,530,000)
Defending Champion: Rickie Fowler. In what is now typical Fowler fashion, he came from behind to win on Sunday. I believe all five of his victories are from behind, while he’s 0-4 when holding the 54-hole lead (just like last week when he led by one and finished top 10).
Fun Fact: This tourney is tied to Labor Day, and thus play doesn’t begin until Friday and ends Monday. Okay, that’s not fun. Bubba Watson will tie the record for the most playoff starts in history when he tees it up Friday. There, that’s better.
Television: Friday-Saturday, 2:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC). Monday, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (GC), 1:30-6 p.m. (NBC).
Former 'Dawgs in the Field (Seven): Hudson Swafford, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, Harris English, Bubba Watson, Kevin Kisner
We’re into round 2 of the FedEx Cup Playoffs; the post-season that the PGA Tour desperately hopes will keep eyeballs while football season kicks in (good luck with that). Last week was the Barclays on Long Island. And while the tournament was not bad in terms of drama, it was bad in terms of the fans. We suppose most of the fans are yankees and from New York, and they did not disappoint the stereotype. /Semi-rant over.
This week it moves to the Boston area, and much is the same. Only the top 100 in rankings after last week made it to Boston, and only the top 70 will advance after this week. The good news is that all seven Bulldogs advanced, as only one missed the cut. But making the cut does not guarantee advancement since the points awarded are quadruple that of the regular season. Thus there is pressure for those between #55-100 to have a high finish and not get passed on the list. So keep reading for a breakdown of the Bulldogs in this week’s field:
Hudson Swafford (#82): Swafford moved up from #90 last week thanks to a finishing 68 and a T41 placement. But he needs to finish top 30 or better to advance to next week.
Brian Harman (#67): Harman moved up 21 spots due to his T22 finish Sunday. He probably needs top 50 this week to keep his position and advance.
Russell Henley (#78): Only moved up 5 spots from #83, but everything helps. His T48 finish last week was basically middle of the pack, and I think he needs top 35 to move on to the third round.
Chris Kirk (#75): The only ‘Dawg to miss the cut last week, he also fell down the points list (15 spots) and is in danger. Like Henley, he needs a decent finish to keep playing.
Harris English (#41): He fell 6 spots from #35, but short of a missed cut will likely still make it to the 3rd round of the playoffs. But a good showing will only help.
Bubba Watson (#19): He actually moved up 5 spots, thanks to a Sunday 66 and a T13 finish last week. This is also due to some guys in front of him who didn’t finish as high. Either way, he needs to make the cut as he’s in a great position to make it to the Tour championship.
Kevin Kisner (#12): A faltering 76 on Sunday pushed Kisner back down to T48 last week, and thus he drops but a single spot on the points list. It’s possible for him to miss the cut and advance, but why tempt fate?
Okay, so I realize most folks won’t watch golf this weekend. There’s a certain football game Saturday at 5:30 (and others according to RedCrake). And its Labor Day weekend, where hopefully you and yours are reveling in the last dregs of summer. But if you get a chance, and you like the drama of millionaires fighting for more millions, switch it on over to catch our favorite Bulldog golfers wage war in New England. And as always….
GO ‘DAWGS!!!