Steve Stricker cards an impressive win at the Deutsche Bank Championship / Steve Stricker reuşeşte să învingă la Campionatul Deutsche Bank

Vijay Singh wins in style / Vijay Singh câştigă detaşat

Vijay Singh wins the Deutsche Bank Championship

Credit: Hunter Martin - Getty Images

The Deutsche Bank Championship is the second of the four playoff events which will decide this year's FedExCup winner. The par 71 course at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts has hosted this tournament since 2003, with famous names as the winners: Scott, Singh, Woods and Mickelson, who was the defending champion heading into this week.

After a great tournament in New Jersey, at The Barclays, Vijay Singh had to answer a simple question... Can he win back-to-back playoff events ? The answer he provided was stunning, albeit expected.

He opened with a 7-under-par 64, followed by a 66, a 69 and a breathtaking 63 in the last round, on Monday. The Fijian had only one bogey during each of the four rounds, never at the same hole. 4 bogeys per week sounds a lot like a winning recipee. But if his scrambling ability brought him to the top of the leaderboard, three other things kept him there.

First, it was undoubtedly his putting. He struggled in the past month with short putts, missing a lot from inside 6 feet. But now, the short stick was his ally and helped him to low rounds on Friday and Monday.

Second, it was his "Greens in Regulation" stat, where he ranked 2nd behind Boo Weekley with 81.9% of the fairways hit.

Third, it was his "Putts per G.I.R." stat, where the 45-year-old ranked 7th.

Singh shot par on all four days at the 1st, 8th and 9th hole and birdied the 7th and the 18th on all four (two of the three par 5s). He had just one eagle: a chip-in on the par 5 2nd hole, early on Monday, just when he needed it the most in order to catch up with Mike Weir.


Vijay Singh chips in for eagle at the par 5 2nd hole during the last round

Credit: Stew Milne - Associated Press


Mike Weir had a double bogey at the par 4 9th after an official stepped on his ball while searching for it

Credit: Stew Milne - Associated Press

He needed just 23 putts on Monday, many of which were 30-40 footers and even a 60 footer for birdie.



His playing competitor during the last round, Sergio Garcia, who he beat last week in the Barclays, had this to say about Vijay: "He played amazing. It was awesome, I don't think you guys are going to realize how good that was, because you're aren't playing and you don't know how tough the course was playing. When Vijay plays like that, it's hard to beat him. It's like when Tiger plays well, you want to beat him, but it's good to watch. You're watching history.".


Sergio Garcia during his last round on Monday

Credit: Stew Milne - Associated Press

Singh now leads the FedExCup standings by a wide margin, being the top favorite to win the grand prize of 10 million USD. And he could already do that next week, if he wins the BMW Championship.

Here are the top 10 and ties:

1		Vijay Singh	-22		64	66	69	63
2		Mike Weir	-17		61	68	67	71
T3		Ernie Els	-14		66	65	69	70
T3		Camilo Villegas	-14		68	66	63	73
T5		Tim Herron	-13		72	67	67	65
T5		Sergio Garcia	-13		67	64	68	72
T7		Chad Campbell	-12		67	70	69	66
T7		Justin Leonard	-12		69	70	66	67
T7		Jim Furyk	-12		66	65	69	72
T10		Steve Marino	-11		66	66	71	70
T10		Ken Duke	-11		66	67	70	70
T10		Ben Crane	-11		72	65	63	73

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Ernie Els finished third overall

Credit: Stew Milne - Associated Press


Jim Furyk shot a 72 on Monday

Credit: Michael Cohen - Getty Images

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Iată primii zece jucători şi egalii lor:

1		Vijay Singh	-22		64	66	69	63
2		Mike Weir	-17		61	68	67	71
T3		Ernie Els	-14		66	65	69	70
T3		Camilo Villegas	-14		68	66	63	73
T5		Tim Herron	-13		72	67	67	65
T5		Sergio Garcia	-13		67	64	68	72
T7		Chad Campbell	-12		67	70	69	66
T7		Justin Leonard	-12		69	70	66	67
T7		Jim Furyk	-12		66	65	69	72
T10		Steve Marino	-11		66	66	71	70
T10		Ken Duke	-11		66	67	70	70
T10		Ben Crane	-11		72	65	63	73

8 Legged Villegas / Villegas cu 8 picioare

As the pin placements at TPC Boston become more difficult, the players shoot higher rounds than in the previous days. However, Colombian Camilo Villegas, also known as "Spiderman" shot a low 8-under-par on Sunday (third round) and is currently in second place, one shot behind the 54-hole leader, Mike Weir.

Right behind the two, in a tie for third place, Sergio Garcia and Vijay Singh. The two players who battled it out at the Barclays, in an exciting playoff, are at it again, this time, trying to catch up with the group behind them.

Phil Mickelson posted a disappointing 72 and missed the secondary third round cut. However, having made the 36-hole cut, he will score 2095 points in the FedExCup standings.

Ben Crane, Ernie Els and Jim Furyk are among others who can challenge the top spot in this fourth round on Labour Day.

More updates to follow...

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Cu cât aşezarea cupelor la TPC Boston devine mai dificilă, cu atât mai ridicate devin scorurile înregistrate de jucători în raport cu zilele anterioare. Totuşi, columbianul Camilo Villegas, cunoscut şi sub porecla de "Omul Păianjen" a reuşit un scor de 8-sub-par duminică (în a treia rundă) şi se află pe locul doi în acest moment, la o lovitură în spatele liderului de după 54 de cupe, Mike Weir.

Chiar în spatele celor doi, la egalitate pe locul 3, Sergio Garcia şi Vijay Singh. Cei doi jucători care s-au duelat la Barclays, într-un playoff foarte interesant, se vor înfrunta din nou, de data aceasta încercând să-i ajungă pe cei ce vor porni în urma lor.

Phil Mickelson a înregistrat un dezamăgitor 72 şi a ratat cut-ul secundar de după runda a treia. Totuşi, trecând de cut-ul principal de după 36 de cupe, el va primi 2095 de puncte în clasamentul FedExCup.

Ben Crane, Ernie Els şi Jim Furyk se află printre cei care pot ataca locul întâi la finalul ultimei runde, astăzi, luni, 1 septembrie.

Urmează alte noutăţi...

Tim Clark leads after 62 round / Tim Clark conduce după o rundă de 62

The "Penguin" from South Africa was about to break the course record in the hunt for a 59, needing a birdie in the last two holes, to accomplish just that. He bogeyed them, but still holds a one shot lead over Mike Weir, who followed his impressive first round score with a 68.

Vijay Singh and Ben Curtis are tied for third place, one shot behind Weir, while Sergio Garcia , Jim Furyk and Kevin Streelman are one further back at -11.

Padraig Harrington, the winner of the British Open and the PGA Championship this season, missed his second cut in a row. He posted a great 6-under-par for the day, but nonetheless finished right under the cut line due to a horrible first round of 75.

The cut was made at -3 and 86 players were above it, which means there will be a secondary cut of top 70s and ties, on Sunday (after the third round; the tournament plays Friday through Monday). Phil Mickelson is among those who just squeezed in, but who still needs a good third round to play on Monday. Mickelson had two birdies in his last three holes, to jump above the line and live to play for another day.

More updates to follow...

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"Pinguinul" din Africa de Sud era pe cale să doboare recordul traseului la TPC Boston în căutarea unui 59, având nevoie de un birdie la ultimele două cupe, pentru a realiza acest lucru. A făcut bogey la ambele, dar deţine totuşi locul întâi cu o lovitură în faţa lui Mike Weir, care şi-a continuat prima rundă impresionantă cu un scor de 68.

Vijay Singh şi Ben Curtis sunt la egalitate pe locul 3, la o lovitură în spatele lui Weir, în timp ce Sergio Garcia , Jim Furyk şi Kevin Streelman se află la încă o lovitură mai în spate, la -11.

Padraig Harrington, câştigătorul Open-ului Britanic şi al Campionatului PGA anul acesta, a ratat calificare pentru al doilea turneu la rând. El a înregistrat o rundă foarte bună de 6-sub-par, dar a încheiat totuşi sub linia de cut din cauza unei prime runde oribile de 75.

Linia de cut s-a tras la -3 şi 86 de jucători s-au aflat deasupra ei, ceea ce înseamnă că va exista un al doilea cut după runda a treia, duminică (turneul se dispută de vineri până luni). Phil Mickelson este printre cei care au reuşit să se strecoare mai departe, dar are nevoie de o rundă a treia mai reuşită pentru a avea şansa de a juca şi luni. Mickelson a avut două birdie-uri în ultimele 3 cupe, sărind astfel peste linie pentru a-şi putea continua turneul.

Vor urma alte noutăţi...

A Perfect 10 / Un 10 perfect

Canadian Mike Weir has posted a 10-under-par round on Friday, in the first 18 holes at the Deutsche Bank Championship. His perfect bogey-free round had 10 birdies and brought him to the top of the leaderboard, with a 3-shot lead over the rest of the field.

Vijay Singh was tied for second at -7, along with Briny Baird, John Merrick and Heath Slocum. Padraig Harrington had a desastrous round of 75 (+4) on the par 71 course at TPC Boston.

As a sidenote, this week's tournament will be held from Friday to Monday, unlike the usual schedules of the PGA TOUR, due to Labour Day, September 1st.

More to come from the next rounds...

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Canadianul Mike Weir a înregistrat o rundă de 10-sub-par vineri, în primele 18 cupe ale Campionatului Deutsche Bank. Scorul său perfect, lipsit de bogey-uri a conţinut 10 birdie-uri şi l-a adus în fruntea clasamentului, cu un avans de trei lovituri în faţa celorlalţi.

Vijay Singh se află la egalitate pe locul 2, la -7, împreună cu Briny Baird, John Merrick şi Heath Slocum. Padraig Harrington a avut o rundă dezastruoasă de 75 (+4) pe traseul de par 71 de la TPC Boston.

Ca o notă informativă, turneul de săptămâna aceasta se va desfăşura de vineri până luni, spre deosebire de orarele obişnuite ale PGA TOUR, datorită Zilei Muncii pe 1 septembrie.

Urmează alte noutăţi din rundele următoare...

The FedExCup Playoffs / Playoff-urile FedExCup

The second edition of the FedExCup is nearing its climax, with the grand prize of 10,000,000 USD up for grabs.

THE PGA TOUR PLAYOFFS FOR THE FEDEXCUP

1. Aug 21 - 24 : The Barclays

2. Aug 29 - Sept 1 : The Deutsche Bank Championship

3. Sept 4 - 7 : The BMW Championship

( Sept 18 - 21 : Ryder Cup 2008 ) - not a Playoff event, but scheduled between them

4. Sept 25 -28 : The TOUR Championship

After last week's tournament, i.e. The Wyndham Championship, the points standings in the FedExCup have been reset, to create the players seeding before the 4 playoff events about to start.

Here is the reset, click to enlarge:




The reset has Tiger Woods at the top with 100,000 points, but he will not compete for the rest of this year, after his season-ending surgery. He is the winner of the first FedExCup, which he dominated from start to finish: he didn't even bother to participate in the Barclays, finished 2nd in the Deutsche Bank and then won the BMW and the TOUR Championships.

At 99,500, the second in the reset is the veteran Kenny Perry who already has 3 wins this season and is looking for a strong finish to a great season. P.S. He will probably be as excited for the Ryder Cup 2008 which will take place between the BMW and the TOUR Championships; it was his greatest wish for this season, to be able to compete for the USA team at Valhalla Golf Club, near his hometown in the Bluegrass State.

Phil Mickelson is next at 99,250. "Lefty" is one of the favorites to win the trophy, but he'll have some strong opponents right behind him: Padraig Harrington, the winner of the last two majors of the season, at 99,000 points; the wonder-kid Anthony Kim at 98,750.

A look further down the post-reset standings shows that pretty much everybody is in the mix: Lee Janzen, who just creeped into the first 144 last week with a T15 finish, can shoot his way up the standings with a win at the Barclays. Janzen would pass the front-runners if they do not finish in the top 7.

Let the playoffs begin!!

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