Deutsche Bank Championship

NORTON, Mass. - Masters champion Charl Schwartzel has been around the TPC Boston long enough this week to know that a fairway metal is the best option off the tee on the 356-yard first hole. Saturday was the first time he played the hole while furious - he had just made a sloppy bogey on the par-5 18th and was losing ground in the Deutsche Bank Championship. "I was, to say the least, fairly upset," Schwartzel said. "It's sometimes very crucial to come back straightaway, otherwise your round can get away from you. The birdie on the first just got me going in the right mind-set again.

As the player consultant for the Deutsche Bank Championship, Brad Faxon felt a need to make the TPC of Boston a more fitting venue for the second stop of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs. Enter Gil Hanse. Hanse, head of Malvern-based Gil Hanse Golf Course Design, created Boston Golf Club in Hingham, Mass., and struck up a friendship with Faxon, who is a member there. When talk began about a redesign of the TPC, the tour player knew one man who'd be up to the task. "Brad alerted the tour that he thought Boston Golf Club was really special, and they asked me to do the work," Hanse said Friday via phone from Scotland, where he is working on Castle Stuart, a course he codesigned that will open in spring 2009 near Inverness.

Tiger Woods got up-and-down from 90 feet for a birdie on the par-5 18th hole yesterday, giving him a 5-under-par 66 and a one-shot lead in the first round of the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Mass. Aaron Baddeley, playing in the same group as Woods, joined Bob May, Justin Rose, Joe Ogilvie and Australian rookie Nathan Green in second. Woods is trying to win for the fifth straight time on the PGA Tour, a streak that began with his victory in the British Open. In other tournaments: At Springfield, Ill., Cristie Kerr and Maria Hjorth shared the lead after two rounds of the LPGA's State Farm Classic.

NORTON, Mass. - Luke Donald finally made the right putts to get off to a good start. Now the world's No. 1 player would like to see how far that might take him in the Deutsche Bank Championship. Donald had a 5-under 66 on Friday at the TPC Boston and wound up 1 shot behind Troy Matteson. Even though Donald has three wins around the world and 10 finishes in the top 10, he has started slowly. Donald was headed that way again until making three straight par saves on the back nine to keep the momentum.

NORTON, Mass. - For all that went wrong for Bubba Watson on the back nine Sunday, at least he still had the lead at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Right when he was starting to pull away in the third round at the TPC Boston, Watson lost control off the tee and made three bogeys in a five-hole stretch, then failed to get up-and-down for birdie from just behind the par-5 18th green. He still managed a 1-under 70 to take a 1-shot lead into the final round. Even so, the Labor Day finish figures to be wide open.

Phil Mickelson is back on his game, and it was good enough to take down Tiger Woods. Going head-to-head with Woods for the first time in 18 months, Mickelson closed with a 5-under 66 to win the Deutsche Bank Championship by two shots. It was the first victory for Mickelson since The Players Championship in May, when he looked ready to make another run at Woods. Then came a wrist injury that cost him his summer, and only recently has Mickelson been able to swing without flinching.

Webb Simpson has found enough birdies on long, tough and wet Liberty National for a 3-under 68 to build a two-shot lead in the Barclays in Jersey City, N.J., the opening playoff event on the PGA Tour. Simpson, a 24-year-old rookie, took the outright lead with an approach to 10 inches on the fifth hole yesterday. He was among nine players who broke par for the day, finishing at 8-under 134. Paul Goydos and Steve Marino, among the leaders after the opening round, each had a 71 and were tied for second.

NORTON, Mass. - Forget college football: The best battle for No. 1 might be taking place on a golf course outside Boston. Vijay Singh - the No. 2 golfer in the world - shot 63 yesterday to move to 11 under and take the second-round lead in the Deutsche Bank Championship. With an eagle on the first hole sparking the best round of the tournament, he took the lead from top-ranked Tiger Woods with back-to-back-birdies on Nos. 12 and 13 and moved into position to take Woods' No. 1 ranking, too. Singh already has won five tournaments this year, including the PGA Championship.

Along with his fifth consecutive victory, Tiger Woods captured another prize at the Deutsche Bank Championship on Monday in Norton, Mass. His seventh victory of the year was enough for him to mathematically clinch PGA Player of the Year. Woods now has won the PGA of America's award eight times in his 10 full years on the PGA Tour. The only two times he did not win the points-based award was in 1998 when Mark O'Meara won two majors, and in 2004 when Vijay Singh won nine times. Players receive 30 points for winning a major, 20 points for The Players Championship and 10 points for every other PGA Tour victory, with a 50-point bonus for winning two majors.

For almost 50 years, the golf season has been defined by four major championships that start in April with the Masters and end in August with the PGA Championship. What the PGA Tour wants is a World Series, its own version of a Fall Classic. Tour commissioner Tim Finchem is pulling together the final pieces of a radical shift in the schedule to feature a shorter season and a points race that intensifies after the majors. The plan is for three blockbuster events to qualify for the Tour Championship, with perhaps a $10 million payoff to the winner.

NORTON, Mass. - For all that went wrong for Bubba Watson on the back nine Sunday, at least he still had the lead at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Right when he was starting to pull away in the third round at the TPC Boston, Watson lost control off the tee and made three bogeys in a five-hole stretch, then failed to get up-and-down for birdie from just behind the par-5 18th green. He still managed a 1-under 70 to take a 1-shot lead into the final round. Even so, the Labor Day finish figures to be wide open.

NORTON, Mass. - Masters champion Charl Schwartzel has been around the TPC Boston long enough this week to know that a fairway metal is the best option off the tee on the 356-yard first hole. Saturday was the first time he played the hole while furious - he had just made a sloppy bogey on the par-5 18th and was losing ground in the Deutsche Bank Championship. "I was, to say the least, fairly upset," Schwartzel said. "It's sometimes very crucial to come back straightaway, otherwise your round can get away from you. The birdie on the first just got me going in the right mind-set again.

NORTON, Mass. - Luke Donald finally made the right putts to get off to a good start. Now the world's No. 1 player would like to see how far that might take him in the Deutsche Bank Championship. Donald had a 5-under 66 on Friday at the TPC Boston and wound up 1 shot behind Troy Matteson. Even though Donald has three wins around the world and 10 finishes in the top 10, he has started slowly. Donald was headed that way again until making three straight par saves on the back nine to keep the momentum.

Steve Stricker birdied his first two holes, and Tiger Woods could see what was coming. Walking to the next tee yesterday at the TPC Boston, Woods said to his caddie, "He's going to shoot 62. " Woods' instincts were off by one. Stricker shot 63. With superb command of his driver and his typical dose of great putting, Stricker ran off five straight birdies and only once came close to a bogey to share the first-round lead with Jim Furyk in...

Webb Simpson has found enough birdies on long, tough and wet Liberty National for a 3-under 68 to build a two-shot lead in the Barclays in Jersey City, N.J., the opening playoff event on the PGA Tour. Simpson, a 24-year-old rookie, took the outright lead with an approach to 10 inches on the fifth hole yesterday. He was among nine players who broke par for the day, finishing at 8-under 134. Paul Goydos and Steve Marino, among the leaders after the opening round, each had a 71 and were tied for second.

Fred Couples made four birdies in his opening six holes, shot 5-under 65, and golf finally felt fun. Tiger Woods couldn't hit the green with a wedge, struggled to shoot even par, and he finally looked human. The Arnold Palmer Invitational delivered a few surprises yesterday, none bigger than the 48-year-old Couples booming tee shots, taking only 23 putts and finishing atop the leaderboard with J.J. Henry. "This doesn't make me the guy to beat," Couples said. "If I can play like that, it makes it a lot easier.

Phil Mickelson is back on his game, and it was good enough to take down Tiger Woods. Going head-to-head with Woods for the first time in 18 months, Mickelson closed with a 5-under 66 to win the Deutsche Bank Championship by two shots. It was the first victory for Mickelson since The Players Championship in May, when he looked ready to make another run at Woods. Then came a wrist injury that cost him his summer, and only recently has Mickelson been able to swing without flinching.

Deutsche Bank Championship In Norton, Mass. Aaron Baddeley. . . 67-66?133 Rich Beem. . . 67-66?133 Mike Weir. . . 65-68?133 Sean O'Hair. . . 68-66?134 Phil Mickelson. . . 70-64?134 Brett Wetterich. . . 66-68?134 Ryan Moore. . . 65-69?134 Arron Oberholser. . . 69-66?135 Camilo Villegas. . . 63-72?135 Ryuji Imada. . . 69-66?135 Craig Kanada. . . 67-68?135 Rory Sabbatini. . . 68-67?135 Steve Elkington. . . 66-70?136 Tiger Woods.

As the player consultant for the Deutsche Bank Championship, Brad Faxon felt a need to make the TPC of Boston a more fitting venue for the second stop of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs. Enter Gil Hanse. Hanse, head of Malvern-based Gil Hanse Golf Course Design, created Boston Golf Club in Hingham, Mass., and struck up a friendship with Faxon, who is a member there. When talk began about a redesign of the TPC, the tour player knew one man who'd be up to the task. "Brad alerted the tour that he thought Boston Golf Club was really special, and they asked me to do the work," Hanse said Friday via phone from Scotland, where he is working on Castle Stuart, a course he codesigned that will open in spring 2009 near Inverness.

Along with his fifth consecutive victory, Tiger Woods captured another prize at the Deutsche Bank Championship on Monday in Norton, Mass. His seventh victory of the year was enough for him to mathematically clinch PGA Player of the Year. Woods now has won the PGA of America's award eight times in his 10 full years on the PGA Tour. The only two times he did not win the points-based award was in 1998 when Mark O'Meara won two majors, and in 2004 when Vijay Singh won nine times. Players receive 30 points for winning a major, 20 points for The Players Championship and 10 points for every other PGA Tour victory, with a 50-point bonus for winning two majors.