Deutsche Bank Championship Gets Underway Friday Morning
BOSTON (CBS) – PGA golf takes over Boston this Labor Day weekend, with the Deutsche Bank Championship getting underway Friday morning.
TPC Boston in Norton is the site of the second of four stops in the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedExCup. In its ninth year, the Deutsche Bank Championship will feature a record $8 million purse and $1.44 million first-place prize.
The top 100 golfers in the world will tee off Friday morning, including top ranked Luke Donald, FedEx Cup points leader Adam Scott, 2007 Deutsche Bank Champion Phil Mickelson, and defending champ Charley Hoffman.
"(It's) obviously a good feeling coming back to Boston," Hoffman said at Thursday's press event. "Last time I left the media center I was pretty happy. So I got here Saturday early and stayed downtown, then came out to the golf course on Tuesday."
Hoffman shot a final round 62, including 11 birdies, to claim the 2010 championship. While there is no doubt he loves the course, so does another one of the PGA's top players.
"This is one of my favorite courses we play all year," said Mickelson. "I think it has incredible great risk‑reward. I think that the holes here have some really good birdie opportunities with the drivable par‑4, reachable par‑5. I think it makes it really exciting for birdies. But I also think the hard holes are really hard, which I love, because you'll get turnover for guys ‑‑ you'll make up ground on the tough holes with par and you'll make up ground on the easy holes with birdie. I think it's just a terrific course."
Mickelson attended the Red Sox-Yankees game Thursday night, throwing out the game's first pitch.
Keegan Bradley, who won the PGA Championship two weeks ago, is set to play in front of his family this weekend. The Hopkinton graduate said he had 50 tickets per day, and is excited to have his relatives in the galleries.
"I look forward to it so much, there is going to be a lot of family members that I haven't seen or even spoken to since the PGA," Bradley said earlier in the week. "It's going to be fun to see them and give them a big hug and be able to share the trophy and the victory."
"I really like him," said Mickelson of Bradley. "I think a lot of him as a person and his golf game. He's great for the game to see win and to see him win the PGA. It's terrific."
Mickelson played with Bradley at last week's Barclays, and is even considering changing to a belly-putter after Bradley became the first player to win a major with one.
That just goes to show how much respect Bradley has gained in his short time on the tour.
"As a rookie to win twice and one of them be a major, that's an unbelievable year," said Donald. "Hat's off to him. He looks like a fine talent and someone who will be around for a long time."
Here are the tee times and pairings for Friday's first round.
Tee #1
Time Players
7:10 a.m. John Senden, Sean O'Hair, Pat Perez
7:22 a.m. Kevin Streelman, Robert Allenby, Jim Furyk
7:34 a.m. Tommy Gainey, Scott Stallings, Kyle Stanley
7:46 a.m. D.A. Points, Spencer Levin, Ryan Palmer
7:58 a.m. Charl Schwartzel, Jason Dufner, Brian Davis
8:10 a.m. Charles Howell III, Adam Scott, Hunter Mahan
8:22 a.m. John Rollins, Graeme McDowell, Bill Lunde
8:34 a.m. Scott Verplank, Chez Reavie, Johnson Wagner
11:40 a.m. Robert Garrigus, Kris Blanks, George McNeill
11:52 a.m. Brendon de Jonge, Sergio Garcia, Brendan Steele
12:04 p.m. Jhonattan Vegas, Ryan Moore, Lucas Glover
12:16 p.m. Bubba Watson, David Toms, Bill Haas
12:28 p.m. Gary Woodland, Phil Mickelson, Jonathan Byrd
12:40 p.m. Webb Simpson, Luke Donald, Brandt Snedeker
12:52 p.m. J.J. Henry, Ian Poulter, Trevor Immelman
1:04 p.m. Greg Chalmers, Davis Love III, Stewart Cink
1:16 p.m. John Merrick, Ernie Els, Ben Crane
Tee #10
7:10 a.m. Marc Leishman, Brian Gay, Andres Romero
7:22 a.m. Carl Pettersson, Scott Piercy, Camilo Villegas
7:34 a.m. Robert Karlsson, Jerry Kelly, Jimmy Walker
7:46 a.m. Mark Wilson, Keegan Bradley, Jason Day
7:58 a.m. Steve Stricker, Vijay Singh, K.J. Choi
8:10 a.m. Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Nick Watney
8:22 a.m. Chad Campbell, Kevin Chappell, Chris Stroud
8:34 a.m. Ricky Barnes, William McGirt, Troy Matteson
11:40 a.m. Harrison Frazar, Charlie Wi, Anthony Kim
11:52 a.m. Cameron Tringale, Brandt Jobe, Kevin Na
12:04 p.m. Zach Johnson, Chris Kirk, Steve Marino
12:16 p.m. Rickie Fowler, Bo Van Pelt, Charley Hoffman
12:28 p.m. Martin Laird, Y.E. Yang, Justin Rose
12:40 p.m. Aaron Baddeley, Rory Sabbatini, Fredrik Jacobson
12:52 p.m. Padraig Harrington, Blake Adams, Jeff Overton
1:04 p.m. Ryuji Imada, Chris Couch, Geoff Ogilvy
