LATE WITHDRAWALS/INJURIES (as of Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET): None
I guess the Kevin Streelman secret is out of the bag now, eh?
My $75k pick from last week may not have won the Barclays, but he made his 11th straight cut and picked up his second top-10 finish in as many weeks.
If Streelman is hot, then Vijay Singh is on fire. The big Fijian won his second event in August with a playoff victory over Sergio Garcia and Kevin Sutherland on Sunday. I guess the greens were to his liking at Ridgewood, unlike at Oakland Hills.
While I didn't pick any of the playoff participants in my column last week, I bounced back after a couple of brutal tournaments with a top-10 and two other top-25 finishers in New Jersey. Also, seven of my nine picks made the cut for the first time since the British Open.
I'll try to keep things going this week at the Deutsche Bank Championship, the second leg of the four-tournament FedEx Cup playoff series. One key thing to remember this week -- this tournament runs Friday through Monday because of Labor Day.
This tournament might sound like it belongs on the European Tour, but it will be played this week on TPC Boston (no 'of' in the middle any more, remember) in Norton, Mass. The 7,207-yard, par-71 layout was designed by Arnold Palmer and features water ponds, rock outcroppings and trees.
This will be the sixth time TPC Boston has hosted this event, and the list of former winners reads like this: Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Olin Browne, Vijay Singh and Adam Scott. No disrespect to Browne, but the other four guys are likely heading to the World Golf Hall of Fame once they're done.
Looking back at the winner's stats since 2003, it's clear that driving distance will be a huge factor this week. Four of the five winners have finished in the top 11 in that category, and all five have finished in the top five in greens in regulation -- a result of having a shorter distance to the greens after longer drives.
Also, par-5 performance will help a lot as, four out of five times, the winner has finished 9 under or better on the longer holes.
The Overnight Airs ($200,000 and up)
Vijay Singh ($290,250) -- I know this isn't a stretch of a pick, but you all know how hot Singh can get when he's playing well. Add the fact that he's won here before and you have yourself almost an automatic pick this week.
Kenny Perry ($261,000) -- I'm not sure what happened to Perry last weekend when he slumped to a 72-76 after opening with 69-67, but I'm banking on him being able to figure things out in Boston. He's third in par-5 performance this year, something that should help him out nicely this week.
Robert Allenby ($228,500) -- Allenby had a very inconsistent week at the Barclays with a 69 on Thursday, 73 on Friday, 66 on Saturday and 75 on Sunday, but he's been anything but that at the Deutsche Bank. In his four trips to this event, he's finished eighth, T4, T15 and T19. That kind of performance can't be ignored, especially at this price.
Also consider: Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Ben Curtis
The Second-Day Airs ($75,001-$199,999)
Camilo Villegas ($196,000) -- Villegas finished ninth here last year and 12th back in 2004, so the youngster clearly knows how to make his way around this week's layout. He played superbly at the PGA Championship (T4) and just missed the cut at the Barclays. His length will obviously be a factor this week, but he'll have to improve on his iron play immensely if he wants to win.
Fredrik Jacobson ($186,250) -- Jacobson has four top-25s in his last six tournaments and finished T9 here last year. A look at his stats tells you his putter has saved him most of this season because the rest of his numbers are far from stellar. If he can get the flat stick working this week, another top-25 shouldn't be out of the question.
J.B. Holmes ($173,250) -- Holmes contended at the PGA before a final-round 81, but rebounded nicely at the Barclays and his closing 66 at Ridgewood leads me to believe the big hitter could be in for a nice outing at TPC Boston. He struggled here last year with a 10 over to miss the cut, but Holmes is playing much better golf now than he was at this point in 2007.
Also consider: Carl Pettersson, Kevin Streelman, Kevin Sutherland
The Ground ($75.000)
Martin Laird -- The man from Scotland who attended Colorado State has been unconscious lately with three straight top-seven finishes. He has dominated par-5s this season and is 10th in eagle frequency, so he shouldn't have any problem getting under par on the longer holes this week. He is 67th on the Playoff points list right now, so a couple of good finishes and he could well find himself at the Tour Championship.
Frank Lickliter II -- Lickliter isn't exactly lighting it up lately, but he has played very well in his last two trips to TPC Boston with a T7 in 2006 and a T15 in 2005. He's pretty good on par-5s thanks to his great short-iron play and solid putter, so hopefully he can convert enough birdies to get into contention.
Lucas Glover -- Glover is too good of a player to pass up at this price. He has made nine of his last 11 cuts, although he only has two top-25s during that span. He has back-to-back top-15 finishes at the Deutsche Bank and will need at least one good finish if he wants to have a shot at making the Tour Championship field.
Also consider: Matt Goggin, Bill Haas, Jason Day
My Fantasy Golf Challenge Lineup
Singh, Perry, Allenby, Glover, Laird
Last Week
Streelman (T4) $489,333; Jim Furyk (T12) $129,000; Anthony Kim (T12) $129,000; Harrington (MC) $0; Jon Mills (MC) $0. Total -- $747,333 (7,193rd). Segment Four -- $882,003 (14,197th). Overall -- $19,455,077 (4,445th).
Congrats to 'Golf the Woosie way!', whose lineup of Singh (won), Garcia (T2), Sutherland (T2), Allenby (T38) and Charley Hoffman (T38) was good enough for $2,545,200 and a win by $35,187 over 'Blackshirts'.
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