FedEx Cup Fantasy Four: Deutsche Bank Championship

For the second week of the PGA Tour Playoffs, we head to TPC Boston for an event and course that have been played since 2003. There’s plenty of history to rely on, along with players struggling to win the Tour Championship and make the cut. We have the Top 100 this week, trying to get a win and some trying to make the Top 70. It should be a very exciting week.

The yardage at TPC Boston is basically the same as Ridgewood last week, so don’t worry about that. Also, defending champs do well, generally. Adam Scott won in ’03 and was the runner up in ’04. Tiger was also a runner-up in ’04, then won in ’06 and was the runner up in ’07. Vijay won in ’04, then was a runner up in ’06 and won again in ’08. Ridiculous. There’s another good fantasy four — Scott, Vijay, Woods..aaaand whoever. Lots of good options this week.

This is Event 20 of the season and the second event of The Playoffs for the NG Nation Fantasy Four and it’s never too late to join. For a refresher on the rules, hit the link — Contest Guidelines and leave your Fantasy Four below.

To see the standings up to this point, click HERE and witness the double points explosion that occured after the first week of play.

NIKE GOLF: Four to Watch

Stewart Cink (42)
Cink is one of the most consistent guys on tour right now. The numbers don’t lie, as he’s has 3 straight Top 20′s and 9 straight made cuts. However, he missed the cut here in ’09 and ’07, but had a T33 in ’08. He could be a good pick and he wants to make an impression of Mr. Pavin.

Lucas Glover (63)
Sure, G’Lover missed the cut last week, but he had a Top 10 at the Wyndham and a T22 at the WGC-Bridgestone. He needs to make the cut this week to move on and he should rebound well from the missed cut.  T14 in ’07, T12 in ’06 with made cuts in ’08 and ’09 is good enough for me.

Justin Leonard (68)
Leonard has definitely played his way to where he is now. He’s made 5 straight cuts, all Top 40′s, which include 3 Top 25′s and a top 10 at the Wyndham. T19 here last year, T7 in ’08 is pretty good. I think this could be his breakthrough week.

Tiger Woods (65)
Yes, only three of us picked Tiger last week and there may be even more this week. I’m sure that Tiger will win a Playoffs event, but I’m not convinced it’s this one. T11 in ’09, T2 in ’07, 1st in ’06, T2 in ’04..his record here is great, but the same could be said for many tournaments this past year. I see a similar finish to last wek, though, the Friday start should help Tiger.

Other Nike golfers in the field: Stephen Ames (69), Anthony Kim (27) , Carl Pettersson (30), Paul Casey (23)

THE FIELD: Four Who are Hot

Dustin Johnson (6)
Recent starts – T9 at Barclays, T5 at PGA, 15 at WGC-Bridgestone
Kuchar got his win, now I think it’s time for DJ to get his. I don’t think people really deserve to win, but DJ is due. There’s no way around it. He’s only played this course once and he finished T4 last year. Ummm, count it.

Matt Kuchar (1)
Recent starts –1st at Barclays,  T10 at PGA, T9 at WGC, T21 at Greenbrier, T4 at Canadian Open, T27 at The Open, T6 at US Open, T8 at Memorial
Kuch-daddy got his big win and he’s not going to stop there. His stats are insane and he had a T15 here last year. This tournament is an all out war.

Kevin Streelman (18)
Recent starts – T3 at Barclays, T18 at Wyndham
Streels has put together two strong weeks and he is playing well. The familiar course helped him last week. He has played TPC Boston the past two years with T35 and T50 finishes, so we’ll see what he can do.

Jason Day (14)
Recent starts – T5 at Barclays, T10 at PGA, T22 at WGC-Bridgestone
With people leaning towards Furyk, Stricker, Woods, Kuchar and DJ, Jason Day is flying right under the radar. He’s even hotter than what I’m showing — 9 straight made cuts, 6 top 25′s..1 win, 4 top 10′s..yep. T19 here last year.

THE FIELD: Four Who Have History

Steve Stricker (2)
Best finishes – 1st in ’09, T13 in ’08, T9 in ’07, T7 in ’06
Stricker is laughing right now. This is his event and he dominates in the Playoffs. He also has 3 Top 10′s in his last 5 starts and is clutch.

Adam Scott (19)
Best finishes – T17 in ’07, 2nd in ’04, 1st in ’03
Remember when Adam Scott was a pick for the President’s Cup and everyone thought it was ridiculous? It was clearly the right move. Scott also has 4 straight made cuts with a pair of T9′s in there and a win this year. He’s looking great.

Jim Furyk (8)
Best finishes – T8 in ’09, T7 in ’08, T13 in ’03
Furyk isn’t happy about last week…and they change the rule right after it happens? Ridiculous! Furyk is the only one here who hasn’t won it, and he’s playing very well.

Vijay Singh (86)
Best finishes – 1st in ’08, 2nd in ’06, 1st in ’04, 4 in ’03
Vijay has a chance right now to make a great finish. He’s in danger of not advancing and once again, he’s the ultimate sleeper. I haven’t seen it in his game, but anything can happen in the Playoffs!

Other notables in the field: Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald, Hunter Mahan, Sean O’Hair, Ian Poulter, Jeff Overton, Ernie Els, Martin Laird, Justin Rose, Geoff Ogilvy, Ben Crane, Robert Allenby

FINAL FOUR: Sean O’Hair, Adam Scott, Paul Casey and Lucas Glover

I think the easy four this week is either Stricker, Furyk, DJ, Kuchar and a swoosher, but you can’t really go too wrong there, with Cink, Leonard, Casey, Glover and Woods all poised to breakout. Day is looking great, too…this is really a toss-up.However, if you’re looking at the Top 10 from 2008 when they went from Ridgewood to TPC Boston, Vijay had back-to-back wins and Furyk basically had 2 Top 10′s..so maybe that stat will intrigue some of you.

I think O’Hair and Glover will be trying to play onto the Ryder Cup team, while Casey is going to prove that he should have been on it.

Check out the full field here >> Deutsche Bank Championship Full Field

Leave your Fantasy Four in a comment below. Remember, you have to pick at least ONE Nike Golfer and have your picks in by THURSDAY at Midnight (PST).

Don’t forget, the points are doubled for the next 3 events, so you’re still in it!

Pick with your heart,

D.