NORTON, MASS., August 2 -- The Deutsche Bank Championship and Tiger Woods’ appearance at the tourney that benefits his charitable foundation have been staples of Boston's Labor Day weekend golf scene since 2003, but that run could be in jeopardy after this year.
Woods, who has played in each DB Championship except 2008, when he was recovering from knee surgery, will have to pick up his game if he hopes to tee it up at TPC Boston in September. The event is the second of four FedEx Cup playoffs, and Woods was ranked 111th in FedEx Cup points, not good enough to make the 100-player field.
We all want Tiger here. “Obviously, we all want Tiger to be here," Seth Waugh, chief executive of Deutsche Bank Americas, told reporters at the event’s media day Monday. "But if he's not, we have the best 100 players in the world."
One of those players will be defending champ, Steve Stricker, who told the gathered media members via conference call that he hoped to play with Woods at the upcoming Ryder Cup matches.
Good partners. “I think we've shown that we're very good together at the Presidents Cup last year,” Stricker said. “We talked about it a little bit already this year, and, hopefully, we can do it again and pair up and do what we did at the President's Cup.”
Stricker and Woods teamed up to go undefeated during the Presidents Cup last October, about a month and a half before all hell broke loose for Woods.
Likes his chances. As for the TPC Boston tourney, Deutsche Bank had yet to sign on as tourney sponsor beyond 2010, an issue that Waugh said he hoped would be resolved by now.
“We like our chances to stay involved,” he said. “I hope we’ll be able to talk at Labor Day about keeping the tour in New England for years to come.”
Four more years. Deutsche Bank’s original sponsorship commitment was for four years, a contract that the bank renewed for four more years, with an option to sign on for another two. Waugh would not provide specifics about why the bank had not yet inked the deal. Despite the bank’s positive earnings report last week, however, he noted that the continuing weak economy could preclude the bank from continuing as sponsor.
"If it comes down to jobs at the bank or us sponsoring the golf tournament, it's not a fair fight," Waugh said. “[In this economy], you can’t take anything for granted anymore.”
Eric Baldwin, director of the event, noted that the $7.5 million DB Championship purse made the tourney an expensive proposition for a sponsor. He said, however, that he remained “very positive” about the tour returning to TPC Boston after 2010, preferably with Deutsche Bank as sponsor.
Chocolate drops. TPC Boston once again enlisted the help of Brad Faxon’s design company to do some fine-tuning on the Arnold Palmer-designed layout.
Faxon’s firm, which has revamped the course in the past, this year made changes to the par-5 second hole that could give golfers pause if they choose to go for the green in two.
The course added chocolate drop mounds to the left of the hole’s landing area, expanded that space, and replaced and extended the green from 5,900 square feet to 8,500 square feet. Three bunkers left and long of the green will limit bailout shots, said Brad Williams, TPC Boston general manager.
The teeing areas for the par-3 third hole were also extended and could play as long as 310 yards, Williams said. Previously, the championship tees stretched to 184 yards.
“It’s not more difficult,” Williams added, “but it should be a lot more interesting to play.”
Economic benefit. The event may be a hard sell for the powers-that-be at Deutsche Bank, but New England has benefited from the tourney to the tune of $61 million.
The 2009 tourney generated more than $61 million in direct and indirect spending impact for the region’s economy, according to a report from the Greater Boston Convention & Visitor Bureau. The region stretches from greater Boston down to Providence, R.I. Spending items included ticket sales ($1.1 million), sponsorship packages ($15 million), spending by local attendees ($6.4 million), spending by out-of-state attendees ($3.8 million), and charitable contributions ($2.8 million).
Military passes. As in the past, the tourney will admit military personnel for free. This year, however, members of the military may obtain passes for the entire week’s festivities. Click here for information about military passes.
Speaking of the world’s still top-ranked player, golf observers are hailing Women’s British Open champ Yani Tseng as the next Tiger Woods after her wire-to-wire win at Royal Birkdale Golf Club. Read how the 21-year-old Tseng sings to herself during golf tournaments to keep herself calm and focused.
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