Dan Roebuck’s Deutsche Bank Championship preview

Only the top 100 on the FedEx Cup standings will tee up in this week’s Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston, as the PGA Tour Playoffs move onto their second event. After Sunday, the field for the third tournament will be just 70, before the top 30 do battle for a cool $10m in the Tour Championship.

For those towards the top of the rankings, qualification to the cash-rich event next month is almost assured, and with the game’s biggest names flexing their muscles in recent weeks – notice the Adam Scott/Tiger Woods one-two in Jersey City last time out – punters could be forgiven for focusing on the top of the market once more.

Scott could win again at 10/1 – his form is that good, and he’s a previous winner at TPC Boston, but he has never followed up any of his previous 21 professional wins with another victory next time out, and on only two occasions has he rewarded each-way backers after a success.

Woods, as we’ve seen this term, does have that ability, but with the world number one suffering from back issues at the moment, even an extra day off – the Deutsche Bank Championship doesn’t start until Friday – I can’t tip a golfer whose fitness is in question. He is the 7/1 favourite to win the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Two players whose form cannot be questioned are Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson.

Stricker has been in contention in each of the last two Majors he’s played in, and his reduced schedule has led to multiple top-dozen finishes. The 2009 winner at TPC Boston has a huge chance to land a first win of the term at 33/1.

Zach Johnson (33/1) took last week off to attend his brother’s wedding, but his last five starts have yielded five top-eight finishes, two of those, when second in the John Deere Classic and fourth in the WGC Bridgestone Invitational, were after seven days rest, so his absence in Jersey City shouldn’t be a problem.

Excellent putting has been the key to victory at TPC Boston in recent years with all of the past four champions ranking in the top four for putting average. With that in mind, and if there is to be a big-priced winner, Matt Every must be backed at 80/1. The Florida professional was fifth in the Barclays after placing ninth in the Wyndham Championship, and in both events ranked inside the top 10 of putts per greens in regulation.

My three to follow – Stricker, Johnson and Every.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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