1. Jason Day, Australia — Taking his turn as the best golfer in the world right now, Day won three of his past four outings, including the PGA Championship and the playoff-opening Barclays last week. He holds the lead in the FedEx Cup point standings, and the No. 3 player in the World Golf Rankings could leapfrog No. 2 Jordan Spieth and top-ranked Rory McIlroy with a victory this week in the Deutsche Bank Championship. Day has played well at TPC Boston, with three finishes in the top 10 in the past five years. He opened with a 63 in 2010 and held the lead most of the way before tying for second after a closing 71, when Charley Hoffman roared past him with a 62.
2. Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland — Despite skipping The Barclays last week, Rory regained the No. 1 spot in the World Golf Rankings when Jordan Spieth missed the cut. The Irishman probably is the freshest of the favorites this late in the long season after missing six weeks because of an ankle injury. He didn’t show too much rust when he came back to tie for 17th in the PGA Championship, and he could be ready for a strong finish to a year in which he already owns three wins. McIlroy knows his way around TPC Boston, having won the Deutsche Bank Championship three years ago with four rounds of 67 or better, and he also tied for fifth in the second event of the FedEx Cup playoffs last year.
3. Jordan Spieth, United States — The way he played all season, Spieth was entitled to have an off week, and he had it when he missed the cut in The Barclays. He lost his No. 1 world ranking and his lead in the FedEx Cup standings to Jason Day, but he remains No. 2 in both. When Spieth missed the cut in the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year, he followed with a torrid run that included six top-10 results in his next seven starts, including victories in the Masters and the Valspar Championship plus runner-up finishes in the Valero Texas Open and the Shell Houston Open. He tied for fourth in his first appearance in the Deutsche Bank two years ago, closing with a 62, and he tied for 29th last year.
4. Henrik Stenson, Sweden — Once again, Stenson is heating up late in the season, this time with a tie for sixth in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, a tie for 25th in the PGA Championship and solo second in The Barclays to climb to fourth in the FedEx Cup standings. Two years ago, he took over the playoffs by winning the Deutsche Bank and the Tour Championship on his way to becoming the only player to win the FedEx Cup chase and the Race to Dubai on the European Tour. He posted four rounds of 67 or better at TPC Boston in 2013, including 63 in the second round, before finishing with 66-66 to win by two strokes over Steve Stricker. Last year, Stenson tied for 29th in his title defense, closing with a 65.
5. Bubba Watson, United States — The way Watson is playing, he looks ready to earn a win in the FedEx Cup playoffs for the first time. He finished in the top three in three of his past four events, a stretch that also includes a tie for 21st in the PGA Championship. Last week, he posted four rounds in the 60s to wind up solo third in The Barclays, and he remains a solid third in the FedEx Cup standings. Watson has all the shots, so his game should play well anywhere, but he has yet to figure out TPC Boston. His best result in nine starts in the Deutsche Bank Championship was a tie for 16th in 2011, when he held the lead at 68-64 before playing the last two rounds in 70-74.
6. Dustin Johnson, United States — In his past two events, Johnson reversed a recent trend of playing well in the first two rounds before fading on the weekend. He tied for seventh in the PGA Championship and tied for ninth in The Barclays to open the PGA Tour playoffs. He is in solid position at sixth in the FedEx Cup point standings and should be in the running for the trophy all the way to the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta in three weeks. Johnson is playing in the Deutsche Bank Championship for the sixth time, and his best finishes at TPC Boston were ties for fourth in 2009 and 2012. Despite more major disappointment, Johnson is enjoying another good year, and he could be primed for a big finish.
7. Justin Rose, England — Although he is playing well lately and is No. 8 in the FedEx Cup standings, Rose has been somewhat under the radar with the focus on Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. After opening with a 77 in The Barclays, he played the middle rounds in 66-63 before a 70 in the final round left him in a tie for 16th. That was his first result outside the top 10 in his past five events, including a tie for sixth in the Open Championship and fourth in the PGA Championship. This is his 11th appearance in the Deutsche Bank Championship, and his best results at TPC Boston were third in 2003, when he opened with a 63, a tie for fourth in 2006 and a tie for 16th last year.
8. Zach Johnson, United States — It appeared Johnson experienced a bit of a letdown after winning the Open Championship, tying for 33rd in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and missing the cut in the PGA Championship, but he rebounded with a tie for fourth in The Barclays. That was his fifth top-five finish in his past eight outings, and it lifted him to fifth in the FedEx Cup standings, the magic number for the season-ending Tour Championship. Johnson’s precise game has not played so well at TPC Boston, where his best finish in the Deutsche Bank Championship was a tie for 13th in 2004. He also tied for 16th in 2011 and again last year. Johnson held the first-round lead with a 63 in 2010 but didn’t break 70 the rest of the way and tied for 30th.
9. Jim Furyk, United States — The 2010 FedEx Cup champion climbed to 11th in the point standings when he tied for 11th last week in The Barclays, barely missing another top-10 finish after he tied for third in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and finished solo fourth in the RBC Canadian Open. When he took home the FedEx Cup in five years ago by winning the Tour Championship at East Lake, Furyk managed only a tie for 37th in the Deutsche Bank Championship, but he does have three results in the top 10 at TPC Boston. His best finish was sixth in 2011, and he also tied for seventh in 2008 and tied for eighth the following year, when he held the 36-hole lead after opening with 63-67.
10. Phil Mickelson, United States — Lefty will start the Deutsche Bank Championship at 52nd in the FedEx Cup standings and would seem to be safe to make it into the BMW Championship, where the top 70 will play after a break in two weeks. However, he has some work to do in order to climb into the top 30 and ensure his spot in the Tour Championship, which he failed to qualify for last year. Mickelson won the Deutsche Bank in 2007, the first year of the FedEx Cup playoffs, shooting 64-68-66 the last three days to beat Tiger Woods and two others by two shots. He also tied for fourth at TPC Boston in 2012 and tied for 10th in 2010, when he shot 63 in the third round.
–Courtesy of The Sports Xchange, TSX Golf Editor Tom LaMarre
