2012 Deutsche Bank Championship pre-tournament notes
Dates: August 31-September 3, 2012
Where: TPC Boston
Par/Yards: 36-35—71/7,214
Field: Top 100 from FedExCup standings
Defending champion: Webb Simpson
Purse: $8,000,000 ($1,440,000 to winner)
FedExCup: Top 100 players from FedExCup standings after The Barclays advance to the DBC Format: 72-hole stroke play
Twitter: @DBChampionship
Deutsche Bank Championship storylines
Deutsche Bank Championship is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2012.
The Deutsche Bank Championship is the second of four events of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup – with the entire season building toward this four-tournament stretch. There is more on the line than the Deutsche Bank Championship trophy – players in the top half of the 100-player field will be looking to move up, jockeying for the coveted top-five position heading to the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola; those near the bottom need enough points to survive to the next event at the BMW Championship (70).
The top 125 players on the final Regular Season FedExCup points list qualified for The Barclays.
The top 100 players on the FedExCup points list following The Barclays qualified for the Deutsche Bank Championship, with 25 players having been eliminated following the first week of the Playoffs.
With the withdrawals of Sergio Garcia and David Toms, the field size at the Deutsche Bank Championship will be 98.
The top 70 on the points list following the Deutsche Bank Championship qualify for the BMW Championship.
Each Playoff event offers 2,500 FedExCup points to the winner.
A points reset will take place following the BMW Championship giving all 30 players in the field at the TOUR Championship a mathematical chance to win the FedExCup. The top five players control their own destiny and can win the FedExCup with a victory at the TOUR Championship.
Current FedExCup Rankings (top 10)
1. Nick Watney 3,226
2. Brandt Snedeker 2,694
3. Tiger Woods 2,417
4. Rory McIlroy 2,299
5. Zach Johnson 2,166
6. Jason Dufner 2,110
7. Bubba Watson 2,080
8. Dustin Johnson 1,972
9. Carl Pettersson 1,898
10. Sergio Garcia 1,810
Players on various FedExCup bubbles
30. Kyle Stanley 1,177
70. Brian Davis 728
100. Martin Flores 556
The top five
The top five in the PGA TOUR Playoffs standings is where players want to be after the next two events are played and the 100-man field at the Deutsche Bank Championship has been trimmed to 30. The top five in the standings entering the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola will control their own destiny and can win the FedExCup with a victory.
No. 1 – Nick Watney
In 2012 – One year removed from winning twice and posting ten top 10s, Watney entered The Barclays with just three top 10s and a season-best solo eighth at the Wells Fargo Championship. He now owns four top-10 finishes and 19 made cuts in 22 starts this season.
The Barclays – Entering the final round two strokes behind Sergio Garcia, Watney carded a 2-under 69 to defeat Brandt Snedeker by three strokes. His fifth TOUR win came at the age of 31 years, 4 months and 1 day in his 214th career start. It marked the 24th come-from-behind win in 37 stroke-play events on the 2012 PGA TOUR.
FedExCup – With his victory at The Barclays, Watney jumped from No. 49 to No. 1, marking the first time this season he has been ranked in the top 10 in the FedExCup standings. Last year, he finished the FedExCup ranked No. 9 after starting the Playoffs ranked No. 1. He is the sixth player to win a World Golf Championships event and a Playoffs event, joining Vijay Singh, Steve Stricker, Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose and Tiger Woods.
At the Deutsche Bank Championship – Watney will be making his ninth start at the Deutsche Bank Championship. After missing the cut in his first five starts at the event (2003, 2005-08), he has since finished T46 (2009), T33 (2010) and T61 (2011). Vijay Singh is the only player to win The Barclays and Deutsche Bank Championship (2008) in the same season.
No. 2 – Brandt Snedeker
In 2012 – Enters the Deutsche Bank Championship ranked No. 2 in the FedExCup standings, with five top-10 finishes.
His season has included a win (the third of his career) at the Farmers Insurance Open, runner-up at The Barclays and T3 at the British Open.
FedExCup – With his runner-up finish at The Barclays, Brandt Snedeker has finished inside the top five in four of his last seven Playoffs events. The others came at the 2011 Deutsch Bank Championship (T3), The Barclays 2011 (T3) and the 2010 Deutsche Bank Championship (T5).
At the Deutsche Bank Championship – In five previous starts at the event, Snedeker has showed continual improvement in five previous starts at the event, including top-5 finishes in his last two starts (T3-2011, T5-2010, T32-2009, T27-2008, T47-2007). Seven out of his last nine rounds at TPC Boston have been in the 60s, including second-round 64s in 2010 and 2011.
No. 3 – Tiger Woods
In 2012 – With wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Memorial Tournament and the AT&T National, is the only three-time winner on TOUR this season. With 74 career victories, surpassed Jack Nicklaus for second all-time on the PGA TOUR trailing only Sam Snead (82).
FedExCup – Woods entered the FedExCup Playoffs atop the points standings for the third time in his career and now sits No. 3 following a T38 at The Barclays. On the previous two occasions, Woods went on to claim the FedExCup title in 2007 and 2009. In 2010, Woods entered the FedExCup Playoffs No. 112 in the points standings and eventually finished No. 42. He did not compete in the FedExCup Playoffs in 2008 and 2011.
At the Deutsche Bank Championship – The 2006 Deutsche Bank Championship winner will be making his eighth start at the event, with top-10 finishes in 2006 (1st), 2007 (T2), 2004 (T2) and 2007 (T7). He has shot 63 on two occasions in the final round at TPC Boston, finishing first in 2006 and T11 in 2009.
No. 4 – Rory McIlroy
2012 – Season highlighted by victories at The Honda Classic and the PGA Championship. In addition to his two victories, World No. 1 McIlroy notched runner-up performances at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship (lost to Hunter Mahan in the finals) and Wells Fargo Championship (lost three-way playoff to Rickie Fowler), as well as a solo 3rd at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.
FedExCup – McIlroy is making just his second appearance in the FedExCup Playoffs and first since 2010 (finished No. 36 in the final standings, failing to advance to the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola).
At the Deutsche Bank Championship – Rounds of 64-76-69-71 for Rory McIlroy led to a T37 finish in 2010 in his only previous start at the Deutsche Bank Championship.
No. 5 – Zach Johnson
2012 – Zach Johnson entered the FedExCup Playoffs No. 4 in the points standings on the strength of victories at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and the John Deere Classic. He also finished runner-up at both the RBC Heritage and THE PLAYERS Championship.
FedExCup – Johnson started the FedExCup Playoffs ranked inside the top five for the second time in his career. In 2009, he began the Playoffs ranked No. 3 before an eventual career-best No. 6 finish.
At the Deutsche Bank Championship – Lone missed cut in six previous starts came in 2005. In his other five starts, has finished no worse than 30th, with two best finishes coming in bookend fashion (T13/2004, T16/2011).
No. 20 – Webb Simpson (defending champion)
2012 – After winning twice in 2011 (Wyndham Championship, Deutsche Bank Championship), Webb Simpson came back this year to win his first Major Championship at the U.S. Open. He entered the final round trailing Jim Furyk and Graeme McDowell by four strokes but carded a 2-under 68 to finish 1-over 281 to win the 112th U.S. Open, edging out Michael Thompson and Graeme McDowell by one stroke.
A look back at his win at the 2011 DBC – After entering the final round two strokes behind 54-hole leader Bubba Watson, Webb Simpson carded a 6-under 65 to finish regulation tied with Chez Reavie at 15-under 269. A birdie on the second playoff hole gave him the win at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Simpson’s second-career win on TOUR came just two weeks after his first (2011 Wyndham Championship).
FedExCup –Simpson carried his victory at the 2011 Deutsche Bank Championship to an eventual second-place finish in the FedExCup. Prior to 2011, he finished No. 62 in the standings in 2009 and No. 85 in 2010.
At the Deutsche Bank Championship – Simpson had missed the cut in two previous starts at the Deutsche Bank Championship (2009, 2010) before winning in 2011.
Rookies in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup
Nine of the 11 rookies who made the Playoffs have advanced to the Deutsch Bank Championship:
John Huh
Bud Cauley
Brian Harman
Seung-yul Noh
Harris English
Roberto Castro
Ted Potter, Jr.
Sang-Moon Bae
Jonas Blix
Will Claxton
Gary Christian
Only four rookies have reached the TOUR Championship in the FedExCup era – all four having been voted Rookie of the Year by their peers:
Keegan Bradley (2011)
Marc Leishman (2009)
Andres Romero (2008)
Brandt Snedeker (2007).
Miscellaneous notes
Adam Scott (2003) and Phil Mickelson (2007) are the only players to win the event in first start.
Luke Donald has finished T2 (2010) and T3 (2011) in his last two starts at the Deutsche Bank Championship.
The only players in their 20s to win the Deutsche Bank Championship were Adam Scott (2003) and Webb Simpson (2011).
Steve Stricker and Hunter Mahan are the only two players who have never missed a start in the PGA TOUR Playoffs (21 overall following The Barclays).
Rory Sabbatini and Padraig Harrington are the only players to record top 10s in each FedExCup Playoff event in a single year. Sabbatini recorded top 10s in all four events in 2007 (3rd – The Barclays, T6 – Deutsche Bank Championship, T10 – BMW Championship, T9 – TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola) while Harrington performed the feat in 2009 (T2 – The Barclays, T4 – Deutsche Bank Championship, T6 – BMW Championship, T4 – TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola.
For the first time since 2009, all four major championship winners are competing in the FedExCup Playoffs: Bubba Watson (ranked seventh in the FedExCup); Webb Simpson (20th); Ernie Els (18th); and Rory McIlroy (4th).
Most top-10 finishes in the Playoffs:
Three players have made it to the TOUR Championship all five years of the FedExCup:
Phil Mickelson is the only player to finish inside the top 15 in the FedExCup standings in the first five seasons:
A look back at last week’s first Playoff event
Six players entered The Barclays ranked Nos. 101-125 in the FedExCup standings and played their way into this week’s Deutsche Bank Championship:
Graham DeLaet
Bob Estes
David Hearn
Jason Day
Tommy Gainey
Jonas Blixt
2011 Deutsche Bank Championship Recap
After entering the final round two strokes behind 54-hole leader Bubba Watson, Webb Simpson carded a 6-under 65 to finish regulation tied with Chez Reavie at 15-under 269. A birdie on the second playoff hole gave him the win at the Deutsche Bank Championship, which came just two weeks after his first-career TOUR win at the Wyndham Championship. He had missed the cut in two previous starts at the DBC (2009, 2010).
Deutsche Bank Championship history – Founded in 2003 and celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2012, the Deutsche Bank Championship is the TOUR’s only scheduled Monday finish. The winner’s roster includes Adam Scott, two-time winner Vijay Singh, Olin Browne, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Charley Hoffman and Webb Simpson:
2011 – Webb Simpson outlasted Chez Reavie in the first-ever playoff at the Deutsche Bank Championship, giving him two wins in three starts on TOUR (Wyndham Championship).
2010 – Charley Hoffman carded a career-low 62, including 11 birdies, en route to a five-stroke win over Luke Donald and a pair of Aussies (Geoff Ogilvy and Jason Day).
2009 – Steve Stricker made his 250th career cut on the PGA TOUR and went on to record his seventh win (including a season-high third) by one stroke over Jason Dufner and Scott Verplank.
2008 – Vijay Singh carded a tournament-record 22-under 262 to cruise to a five-stroke victory over Mike Weir and ultimately the FedExCup championship.
2007 – Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh paired together for first two rounds; Mickelson, Woods, Brett Wetterich and Arron Oberholser dueled with Mickelson winning to take over FedExCup lead.
2006 – With two eagles in his first seven holes in the final round, Tiger Woods erased a three-shot deficit and posted an 8-under-par 63, overcoming the 54-hole leader Vijay Singh to win by two.
2005 – Olin Browne clipped Jason Bohn by a single stroke for his third career win. In the process he surpassed $1 million in season earnings for the first time in his career.
2004 – Vijay Singh, in claiming one of nine PGA TOUR titles on the year, moves to No. 1 in the World Golf Ranking as he out dueled Tiger Woods and Adam Scott. Woods had been No. 1 for a record 264 weeks.
2003 – Adam Scott, playing on a Sponsor Exemption, earned first win of TOUR career. Scott (6) is second to Sergio Garcia (7) for career PGA TOUR wins for players under the age of 30.
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