The Deutsche Bank Championship
Date: September 3rd – 6th, 2010
Course: TPC Boston – Norton, MA
TV: The Golf Channel/NBC
by Evergreen of Predictem.com
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You may be looking forward to the start of NCAA or NFL Football, but don’t forget that the PGA playoffs are heating up as the remaining exempt players head to Massachusetts for the 2010 Deutsche Bank Championship. The TPC Boston will host the top-100 players on the FedExCup Points List and while all will be looking for a win, some will also have the intermediate goal of getting into the top-70 which will earn an invite to next week’s BMW. Steve Stricker is the defending champion this week and a Major quality field that includes Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will stand in his way of back to back victories.
Although the field will be very strong, the host course will play rather easily, coming in as the 37th hardest course out of the 51 in the 2009 PGA rotation. Ball strikers and bombers alike have all had success as the course can be attacked in a variety of fashions and will give up several rounds in the mid to low 60’s and possibly a round at or near the course record of 61. Watch for the action at the par-5 finishing hole. Nearly every player will be looking to hit the 528 yard final hole in two with the potential to have a mid iron approach should the player execute a perfect drive over the fairway bunkers. For the championship, the TPC Boston will measure 7,304 yards and play at par-71.
Each week, we take a look at the online sportsbooks and highlight a few players that we think have the goods to get the win. We’ll send you to the window with a short, middle and long odds golfer and breakdown a few head to head matches that you’d typically find at any offshore betting site. Here are our picks for the 2010 Deutsche Bank Championship.
Short Favorite: Steve Stricker (11 to 1 odds to win)
While the world waits for Tiger and Phil to get their acts together, Steve just keeps cashing checks. The defending champ is coming off a T3 at the Barclays and has not missed a cut in 16 starts while notching 7 top-10 finishes. Steve seems to like the TPC Boston with T7, T9 and T13 finishes in his three starts here prior to the 2009 win. Stricker’s strength is on the greens where he is in the top-10 in both putts per round and putting average and will bring the 2nd best scoring average into the week. The 3rd ranked all around player also has a top-10 birdie average and can save par with the best of them as a 10th ranked scrambling stat can attest.
Middle of the Road: Dustin Johnson (16 to 1 odds to win)
This guy has to cash one in soon, right? A T5 at the PGA and a T9 last week bring his top-10 total to six in seventeen cashes and he has been inside the top-15 in six of his last eight starts. The third longest player on Tour was a T4 here last year and should simply overpower this layout. Length isn’t the only plus on the stat sheet though, as Dustin is 39th in GIR despite playing from the long stuff about half the time and his birdie and scoring marks are both comfortably in the top-20.
Longshot: Ben Crane (66 to 1 odds to win)
The 2010 Farmer’s champ has had a quiet summer but has only missed four of twenty-one cuts and is coming off a nice T12 at the Barclays. Crane has proved he can hack it here with a T10 in 2008 and his overall stat sheet has him as the 2nd ranked all around player. Ben has been ultra consistent in 2010 and currently ranks in the top-35 in GIR%, fairways hit, putting average and birdie average. You wouldn’t think that any player with those credentials would be at 66 to 1, but that is what you get when the top dogs are all in the field. This would be a great week to have the longshot come through.
Head to Head Matches (our pick) *matches are for entire event. Check with your favorite online bookie for single round matches and prop bets.
Phil Mickelson (-115) v. Rory McIlroy (-115) (McIlroy)
Something is definitely up with Lefty. He showed little in missing the cut last week and looks to be a near push-over at this point when matched with any golfer he’s likely to draw. Now, he can always snap out of it at any time and storm the field for a win, but the lackluster play of late is reminscent of the downturn that Vijay Singh went through a few years back. The books will continue to put Phil up against the highest quality of players due his name alone (as they did with Singh), so bet against him with confidence until he proves he is once again a head and shoulders favorite in a head to head.
Jim Furyk (-115) v. Matt Kuchar (-115) (Kuchar)
It’s a sure thing that Furyk will double up on the alarm clocks this week so there will be action in this match but you have to look at Kuchar as the favorite. Even if you discount the somewhat fortunate win last week, Kuchar still owns the best scoring average on Tour and edges Furyk in greens hit, putting average and birdie average. Just the opposite of Mickelson, you can bet on Kuchar until he proves his hot run has come to an end.
Good Luck!
