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 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.
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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.
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