Who will stand in the winner’s circle after this week’s PGA Tour stop in Boston? Michael Whitmer makes his picks for the Deutsche Bank Championship:
CONTENDERS:
Steve Stricker
Age: 45. World ranking: 10
DBC starts/cuts made: 9/6
Best finish: Win (2009)
Might win because: Stricker has been consistently good with a win and six other top-10 finishes, and has a good track record at TPC Boston. That’s because he’s finally figured the course out: Stricker missed the cut his first three trips here, and since then has gone T9, T13, Win, 9, T42. Hard to believe, but Stricker has gone six straight FedEx Cup playoff events without finishing better than 15th. Started the season with a bang, winning the opening Tournament of Champions. Can he end with something similar?
Vijay Singh
Age: 49. World ranking: 72
DBC starts/cuts made: 8/7
Best finish: Win (2004, 2008)
Might win because: He’s the only player to have won this tournament more than once, so that provides some built-in confidence. As he approaches life on the Champions Tour (50 in February) Singh would love to make some noise in what might be his last run through the playoffs. He’s played better lately, at least in the first two rounds: 71-69 to share the lead at the PGA Championship, then 68-67 at the Barclays. His weekend rounds in those two tournaments, though, were a combined 16 over par.
Padraig Harrington
Age: 40. World ranking: 59
DBC starts/cuts made: 5/2
Best finish: T4 (2009)
Might win because: Harrington – and no doubt his legion of fans – would love to stick it to Jose Maria Olazabal for passing him over on Europe’s Ryder Cup team, the first time since 1999 that he won’t be part of the matches. It’s hard to predict how Harrington will react: Will he come out extra motivated to prove he should have been a captain’s pick, or will he come out and struggle on a course that he doesn’t have much success on? In five trips, Harrington has missed three cuts, tied for fourth in 2009, and was 73d last year.
Jason Day
Age: 24. World ranking: 29
DBC starts/cuts made: 4/4
Best finish: T2 (2010)
Might win because: He’s truly playing with house money, coming from way back in the points list (115th) and advancing after he shot a final-round 66 at Bethpage Black. It’s been a disappointing season for Day, who withdrew from the Masters with an ankle injury, missed the cut at the Players, was never a factor in the US Open, and skipped the British Open to spend time with his newborn son. He’s gone T3 and T2 the past two trips to TPC Boston, so don’t be surprised if he gives himself another chance.
WINNER:
Jason Dufner
Age: 35. World ranking: 7
DBC starts/cuts made: 4/4
Best finish: T2 (2009)
Will win because: He’s the only player in the 98-man field who took last week off, choosing to skip the Barclays after a breakout season that has included two wins and placed Dufner on his first Ryder Cup team. He was second in the FedEx Cup points race until last week, and now sits sixth. He seems to like TPC Boston, never finishing worse than 37th, that coming in his debut in 2004. Tied for seventh in his last tournament, the Wyndham Championship, one of eight top-10 finishes this year.