Deutsche Bank Championship. Kirk Wins, Beam Me Up Scotty.

Chris Kirk had a “beam me up Scotty” moment as he won the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston on Monday.

Chris Kirk / Getty Images

A final round of -5 under par 66 gave Chris a -15 under par winning total, and a two shot victory at the Deutsche Bank Championship. He said it was a big moment in his life, not just winning but maybe a Ryder Cup place;

“Biggest win I ever had, I may be a little bit more calm, but I was still freaking out a bit inside.”

“I definitely put myself in contention for one, if I get picked great. If not, I’m still happy with my win today.”

 

Three players tied for second place, at -13 under par, Geoff Ogilvy, Russell Henley, and the man everyone assumed would at least force a play-off, Billy Horschel. On the final hole the par five 18th, Billy was attempting to reach the green in two shots, to have a crack at an Eagle putt that would have won him the tournament. Instead he crumbled as he hit the worst the shot of his life, dumping the ball into the hazard short of the green, and taking a penalty drop, followed by a bogey score.

Rory McIlroy did not produce the expected charge, he cared a final round -1 under par 70 to finish in a tie for fifth at -11 under par.

So now it goes to Cherry Hills and all the usual suspects will be there, including Phil Mickelson.

Deutsche Bank Championship. Two Tied at the Top.

Jason Day and Ryan Palmer are tied together at the top of the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston.

  

Ryan Palmer and Jason Day both posted tournament totals of -8 under par at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Ryan carded an even par second round of 71, while Jason made up ground with his -3 under par 68. Jason has a chance to win for a second straight week, taking the least putts of anyone in the field, needing  just 47, including 25 in the second round.

He mentioned the times he has been in a good position, and how he is now comfortable with being there, finishing second last week;

” The times I put myself there, the better I feel and the more comfortable I feel playing in final groups. I’m just going to keep trying to do the work, stay aggressive to my targets.”

“You get yourself above the trees, it can be very difficult to judge how much wind there is, and if you get too far below the trees, it doesn’t get hit by the wind at all. It played tough today. I played good on the front nine, played kind of average on the back nine. But I got it in.”

Ryan spoke about the Ryder Cup spots, and how happy he was to finish the round at even par;

“I don’t think we ever had this many guys trying to get three spots. I think there’s five or six guys he’s looking at, or whatever it is. Hopefully, I’ll be there standing, I don’t know.”

‘‘It could have gone the other way real quick, I was glad to get that last birdie on 18 and salvage even par.”

“I just struggled hitting some crisp iron shots. I had a lot of good putts, a lot of good saves, some good long birdie putts. But it was a grind today. I didn’t have it all. But I fought hard and stayed patient. And I was able to get in at even par.”

Tied in third place are Matt Kuchar and Billy Horschel, just one shot back of the leaders at -7 under par for the tournament.

Matt’s round  featured six consecutive birdies around the turn, but his thoughts are concentrated on his caddie Lance Bennett, whose wife, Angela, died of a seizure Wednesday. All players were offered a chance to donate to a trust fund for the 4-year-old daughter of  his caddie. Matt decided to play to raise awareness and get the tour involved in helping the family.

‘You never know how things will work out in the game of golf, but it felt like there’s some fate working, as well. The funeral is coming up and some things that will be difficult. But right now, I feel like there’s some inspiration and some fate working.”

Phil Mickelson, Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, Ernie Els and Bubba Watson all made the cut, which had been set at +3 over par.

 

Deutsche Bank Championship. 63 puts Ryan Palmer in Front.

Ryan Palmer has placed himself in front of the field in the Deutsche Bank Championship carding a first round 63.

Ryan Palmer / Getty Images

Ryan’s -8 under par 63 opening round has given him a shot lead at the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston. His flawless 63 upstaged local boy Keegan Bradley who had enthralled the partisan gallery with an early morning round of -6 under par 65, which had him on top of the leaderboard for most of the day.

 

Ryan needed only 21 putts during the day, his putter was certainly hot, rolling in an 18 footer on the final hole, he is hoping for a Ryder Cup pick;

“I don’t know what to say about it. It was one of my best rounds of the year for sure, I don’t think I’ve ever had 21 putts in one round. It’s been building all year. I keep telling myself something is going to happen.”

“I’ve been putting good for a while. My short putting has been good; my lag putting has been better than it has been in the past. It’s been a matter of hitting the iron shots close, giving myself more chances, and I was able to do that today.”

” Tom Watson keeps saying that he wants hot players, guys that are playing well at the end. I feel like I’ve got a shot. I told (assistant captain) Andy North, I’m going to make it hard on you guys this week.”

Keegan had to settle for second place, and is constantly thinking about the Ryder Cup, day and night;

“Every second,  when I’m sleeping, I’m dreaming about it. When I wake up, I’m thinking about it. When I’m on the course, I’m thinking about it. But I’ve just made the decision that it’s going to come up and I’m not going to try to block it out.”

“I’m just going to try to embrace it and be aware of those thoughts. The more I try not to think about it the more it comes in. I’m just embracing it.”

Jason Day, Webb Simpson and Chesson Hadley share third place after their opening rounds of -5 under par 66.

Hunter Mahan, Rory McIlroy and Jimmy Walker, the top three in the FedExCup standings last week were grouped together on Friday.

Rory carded -1 under par 70, the same as Jimmy while Hunter, last weeks winner, could only post +2 over par 73. Phil Mickelson fell to +3 over par 74,  he has qualified for the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola every year of his more than two decades on the PGA TOUR, that streak looks in serious jeopardy this season.

Deutsche Bank Championship. Henrik’s Highlight; Sergio’s Slump

Henrik Stenson won the Deutsche Bank Championship, a highlight of his successful season so far. Sergio Garcia slumped in the final round at TPC Boston.

Henrik Stenson / Getty Images

Henrik fired a final round -5 under par 66, to comprehensively win the Deutsche Bank Championship by two shots with his tournament total of -22 under par. In a good season of golf Henrik  was the runner-up in the British Open and a World Golf Championship, and he also tied for third at the PGA Championship. The win puts him at the top of the FedExCup standings. He said he was pleased to finally win a tournament;

“I’m just pleased I won here, this was a big goal of mine to win a golf tournament after all those nice finishes. My family is here. I’m going to see my kids in a little bit. It’s all good.”

Steve Stricker was in second place, at -20 under par, this was his third second place finish this year, and he has played his way into the The Presidents Cup team. Steve shot a final round of -4 under par 67 to secure the runner-up position.

Third place went to Graham DeLaet, his final round -2 under par giving him a total score of -18 under par for the tournament.

Sergio was one of four players tied in fourth place at -17 under par. He enjoyed a two-shot lead at the start of the final round, but sadly gave it away quickly, starting with a three-putt for bogey on the par-5 second hole. He missed several short putts and went out in 39, falling too far back to catch up. He ended up with a final round of  +2 over par 73.

Sharing that fourth spot with Sergio at -17 under par were, Matt Kuchar, Kevin Stadler and Jordan Spieth.

Jordan fired the low round of the tournament in his final round, a -9 under par 62.

The top 70 players on the FedExCup standings now move on to the BMW Championship next week, starting on Thursday the 12th September.

Deutsche Bank Championship. Sergio Surges To The Top.

Sergio Garcia surges to the top of the leaderboard in the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston in the third round.

Sergio Garcia / Getty Images.

Sergio Garcia shot a third round -6 under par 65 to ease him into a two shot lead going into the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship, with a -19 under par total. Sergio said patience was the key;

“You could make a lot of birdies if everything went exactly the right way, kind of like it went on the back nine for me. But you have to be patient and just wait for the right time. We can’t control the weather, and you’ve just got to go out there and try to play the best you can. And I was very happy to see that my best was 6-under. Like a true golfer should talk, you always feel like you leave something out there, but I feel like I played nicely. I feel like obviously two or three putts felt like they maybe deserved a little better than they got. But I hit good putts. And sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t. But I think that maybe with the lead and shooting 6 under today, I would have taken it this morning. I can’t be disappointed with that.”

Just one shot off the lead is Henrik Stenson, his third round of -5 under par 66 gave him a tournament total of -17 under par. Henrik thinks the low scoring will continue tomorrow;

 ” There’s heaps of low scores out there, you have to keep making birdies if you want to have anything to do with this tournament. Today was no different. It’s going to be the same tomorrow. I’m sure everyone is coming at us from all different angles.”

Tied in third place at -16 under par are Graham DeLaet and Steve Stricker. Graham fired in a -9 under par 62, and looks to be in good form. That score should secure a spot in the Presidents Cup team for him.

Graham spoke about his incredible round, especially as he arrived late;

“It was an incredible day, it’s one of those days that it doesn’t come along as often as you’d like. I’m kind of a routine guy, so I definitely would prefer to be here on my regular time and go through everything how I always do. But at the same time, like I said, I wasn’t in panic mode. Once I got to the golf course I knew I had enough time. Last week definitely helped, Sunday, I mean that was a tough golf course. The wind was up there and I was able to put together a nice round. And just coming in here this week I was really feeling good about the way I was hitting it and the way I was putting it, and when you can make a few putts early, especially you can just get a little bit more confidence going. It was just a fun day. I just hope that I can have half that kind of day tomorrow.” 

Steve also had his eye on the Presidents Cup team;

” My goal this week was to make the Presidents Cup team, on my merit. So it’s provided a lot of incentive to me to play well here.”

Tiger Woods is thirteen shots off the lead, and Phil Mickelson is now eleven shots adrift, nothing doing for these two today. Surprising seeing as the wet conditions let officials give the contestants lift, clean and drop.

Players who missed the cut, and are now out of the FedExCup play-offs are: No. 71 John Rollins, No. 78 Martin Flores, No. 79 Scott Brown, No. 81 Luke Guthrie, No. 82 Robert Garrigus, No. 83 Derek Ernst, No. 88 Brian Harman, No. 93 Greg Chalmers, No. 94 Erik Compton and No. 99 William McGirt.

 

Deutsche Bank Championship. Two Tear Up The Course.

                   

Two players, Phil Mickleson and Brian Davis both shot 63,to tear up the TPC Boston course, and tie the lead at -8 under par in the opening round of the Deutsche Bank Championship.

A smiling Phil Mickelson / Stan Badz PGA Tour

A smiling Phil made the understatement of the day;

“I felt I played really well, obviously, I putted well. I really made a lot of good putts. The greens were perfect the front nine. I saw the line and I just rolled them in. It felt really good to putt like that.”

Phil has never won a FedExCup, or been voted the Player of the Year, but he wants them now;

“If I finish off with one or two (more) wins this year and win the FedExCup. I think that would be enough to get the Player of the Year. I feel like these next three weeks I’m going to play very well. I can just feel it, you can just tell sometimes. The game feels sharp, and mentally I have a lot of energy and I’m able to focus clearly.”

Brian Davis injured his right foot when he fell down a few stairs in the house he was staying in for The Open Championship.

“I dropped my dinner as well, I haven’t played that great the last four or five tournaments. Been limping a few weeks, and body has not been feeling great. Golf is a funny game, sometimes you can come in and feel good and not play well. But I felt it today and obviously rode it. The FedEx is great drama, for us guys a lot of volatility. You know you have to play well.  I missed a couple of shots last week, you can make some big jumps, and get points in the Playoffs. Coming today, I played great. I know what I’ve got to do not only to advance to next week, but obviously if you can have high finishes you’re going to make huge gains. I’m glad I played well and put myself in a good position.”

In third place is Kevin Stadler, his -7 under par 64 opener has given him the position on his own. This start and the same start last week have been the best rounds of his career, to date;

“It was the best round I had this year, in quite a few years, really. I kind of got in a groove with the putter. It was fun seeing the ball go in the hole. I wish I could say that’s the norm, but it’s the far from it. Usually the putter kind of holds me back. But it’s been getting better.”

Tiger Woods is off the pace at the moment, an opening round of -3 under par 68 only giving him a share of 34th spot. He said his back was OK;

“The back is good, unfortunately, I didn’t give myself a whole lot of looks. Missed a few opportunities out there, the golf course is really receptive and certainly gettable. I didn’t hit the ball as well I’d like to but I scored alright.”

 

Deutsche Bank Championship, World number one Rory Wins.

Rory McIlroy/Stan Badz/PGA Tour

World number one Rory McIlroy won the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston by just one shot from Louis Oosthuizen, Rory shot a last round of -4 under par, 67 for tournament total 0f -20, while Louis could not improve on his overnight score of -19 under par, finishing his last round at even par. Rory stumbled a bit over the closing holes but hung on for victory;

” I didn’t finish it off the way I would’ve liked, but I’m happy to get my third victory of the year.It’s good to get a victory in these Playoffs. It sets me up in a good position for the next two weeks. Obviously delighted to get my fifth win on the PGA Tour, third win this year, second win in the last three events. Yeah, today was great, going out with a three-shot deficit. I just wanted to get off to a good solid start and maybe put Louis under a little bit of pressure. I was able to do that playing the first holes 3-under, and we both made a couple of mistakes on the fifth hole, but he made a 6 to my 5, so I was able to take advantage of that a little bit. I think the good start set me up for a solid back nine. There was a couple of shots on the back nine; I well, I won’t take back now, but if I could have then, I would have. But still managed to do enough, and as I said, delighted to get this win, delighted to go to No.1 in the FedEx Cup, sets me up for a great next couple weeks. So overall just very pleased.”

Louis Oosthuizen was displeased with his front nine today, 37 strokes, especially as he whizzed through them in just 29 shots yesterday, but is happy with his placing in the play-offs;

“Felt like I shot a 47, the 17th hole cost me.  It’s a great spot for the next two tournaments, I’m more happy that I’m playing really well and I’ve got the game back the way I want it to be. It’ll be great going into the next weekend in the finals.  Should be good fun.”

Tiger Woods finished alone in third spot at 18 under par for the tournament and just two strokes behind winner Rory McIlroy, by   finishing in solo third place, Tiger becomes the first golfer ever to win $100 million in career earnings. Although Tiger still hasn’t won as many career events as Sam Snead, who won a record 82 Tour events. He said of Sam Snead;

” I’ve won fewer tournaments than Sam Snead had, obviously he was in a different era. It’s just that we happened to time it up right and happened to play well when the purses really had a nice spike up. My game is starting to come around, I’m pleased with the progress I made this week and really pleased with the way I rolled it. I hit so many good putts all week-long, so that’s a positive. I certainly had my looks, I drove it really well on the back nine and just didn’t hit it close enough at all. The only one I stuffed there was at 17, I missed that one. The goal was to at least get to 20 playing the last hole and give myself an option to go 21 or 22. I thought that might be good enough to get into a playoff.”

Phil Mickelson had a good tournament;

” This was a good week for me because the last couple of weeks I’ve started to kind of piece my game back together. The irons have been good, putter is getting to where I want it to be, and I’ve been driving the ball well. So the pieces are finally there. Even though I didn’t put myself in a position to make a run at the leaders, my game feels like it’s back, and I’m ready to start competing here in the next couple, and I’m going to see if I can get one of the next two.  I’ve hit a lot of good iron shots. My distance control has been really good. I feel good with my game now. I’m putting the ball in play when I need to, my speed is coming back, and the last thing that feels really good is the putter. It’s taken some of the anxiety out of it, making all of the short ones, and my speed and touch has been the best it’s been.”

So, now its on to the BMW.