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The Deutsche Bank Championship is the second of four events of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup – with the entire season building toward this four-tournament stretch. There is more on the line than the Deutsche Bank Championship trophy – players in the top half of the 100-player field will be looking to move up, jockeying for the coveted top-five position heading to the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola; those near the bottom need enough points to survive to the next event at the BMW Championship (70).

· The top 125 players on the final Regular Season FedExCup points list qualified for The Barclays.
· The top 100 players on the FedExCup points list following The Barclays qualified for the Deutsche Bank Championship, with 25 players having been eliminated following the first week of the Playoffs.
· The top 70 on the points list following the Deutsche Bank Championship qualify for the BMW Championship.
· Each Playoff event offers 2,500 FedExCup points to the winner.
· A points reset will take place following the BMW Championship giving all 30 players in the field at the TOUR Championship a mathematical chance to win the FedExCup. The top five players control their own destiny and can win the FedExCup with a victory at the TOUR Championship.
· Players should strive to get into the top five in the FedExCup standings heading into THE TOUR Championship, where they would control their own destiny and win the FedExCup with a victory.

Current Top 10 in the FedExCup Rankings:

1. Dustin Johnson 3,691
2. Matt Kuchar 2,907
3. Nick Watney 2,256
4. Webb Simpson 2,211
5. Luke Donald 2,108
6. Brandt Snedeker 2,102
7. Steve Stricker 2,083
8. Vijay Singh 1,778
9. K.J. Choi 1,771
10. Gary Woodland 1,748

View Total Playoffs FedExCup Points Standings


Players on various FedExCup bubbles:

30. Brian Davis 1,128
70. Marc Leishman 692
100. Ben Crane 526

View Live Projected FedExCup Points


The Top Five

The top five in the PGA TOUR Playoffs standings is where players want to be after the next two events are played and the 100-man field at the Deutsche Bank Championship has been trimmed to 30. The top five in the standings entering the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola will control their own destiny and can win the FedExCup with a victory. The current top five is a mix of young stars and established veterans, U.S. and international players: Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Nick Watney, Webb Simpson and Luke Donald.

No. 1 – Dustin Johnson
In 2011 – Dustin Johnson carded a final-round 65 for a two-stroke win over Matt Kuchar at The Barclays, the first event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. It was the fifth win of his career and the second in a Playoffs event (2010 BMW Championship). He joins Tiger Woods (3), Steve Stricker (2), Camilo Villegas (2), Vijay Singh (2) and Phil Mickelson (2) as the only players with multiple victories in Playoff events.

At the Deutsche Bank Championship – Johnson will be making his third start at TPC Boston, finishing T4 in 2009 and T57 in 2010. He owns six rounds in the 60s at the event, with bookend 73s in 2010 the only exceptions.

No. 2 – Matt Kuchar
In 2011 – Matt Kuchar, who nearly successfully defended his 2010 The Barclays win with a runner-up showing last week, enters the Deutsche Bank Championship No. 2 in the FedExCup standings, the same position he ended the 2010 season. He continues to be one of the most consistent players on the PGA TOUR with nine top- 10 finishes in 2011 (second only to Luke Donald’s 10), including runner-up finishes at the Memorial presented by Nationwide Insurance and The Barclays. In 2010 and 2011 combined, Kuchar has 20 top-10 finishes, the most on TOUR over that timeframe.

At the Deutsche Bank Championship – This year marks Kuchar’s eighth start at the Deutsche Bank Championship. In 2010, he opened with rounds of 66-65 to sit one shot behind Brandt Snedeker and Jason Day, before rounds of 72-71 led to a T11 – the best of three top 20s at the event (T11-2010, T15-2009, T17-2004).

No. 3 – Nick Watney
In 2011 – Starting off the Playoffs in the enviable position of No.1 in the standings, Nick Watney is the only player in the top five with multiple wins. Although finishing T10 at The Barclays, he dropped to No. 3 in the FedExCup standings heading into the Deutsche Bank Championship. Watney won his first World Golf Championships event early in the season at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship at TPC Blue Monster at Doral. In July, he won for the second time at the AT&T National. It marked the first time in Watney’s career that the fourtime PGA TOUR winner has won multiple events in a single season. His nine top-10 finishes in 2011 are the most of his career and rank second (with Matt Kuchar) on the PGA TOUR, second only top Luke Donald’s 10. In the four years of the FedExCup, Watney has reached the TOUR Championship twice, finishing 12th in the final FedExCup standings in each of the last two seasons.

At the Deutsche Bank Championship – After missing the cut in his first five starts at the Deutsche Bank Championship, Watney has since finished T46 (2009) and T33 (2010).

No. 4 – Webb Simpson
In 2011 – Making his 88th start on the PGA TOUR, Webb Simpson walked into the winner’s circle for the first time two weeks ago at the Wyndham Championship, jumping nine spots to No. 3 in the FedExCup standings. Following a T10 at The Barclays, he will enter the Deutsche Bank Championship No. 4 in the standings. His finish at The Barclays was his eighth top-10 and 16th top-25 finish of the season (21 starts), more than his combined career totals in each category entering the season (six top-10 and 15 top-25 finishes). Simpson finished No. 62 in the FedExCup standings in 2009 and No. 85 a year ago.

At the Deutsche Bank Championship – Webb Simpson will be making his third start at the Deutsche Bank Championship, missing the cut in 2009 (71-75—146) and 2010 (75-71—146).

No. 5 – Luke Donald
In 2011 – The most consistent player in golf over the last 12-plus months, Luke Donald entered the PGA TOUR Playoffs No. 4 in the standings, riding the momentum of a TOUR-leading 10 top-10 finishes in 2011, including his victory at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. Following a T18 finish at The Barclays, he’ll enter the Deutsche Bank Championship at No. 5. Several of his top-10 finishes came at some of the biggest events and against the most difficult competition of the year: the PGA Championship (T8), Masters Tournament (T4), THE PLAYERS (T4) and the other two World Golf Championships events (Cadillac Championship -T6, Bridgestone Invitational - T2). With his performance during this time, Donald has moved to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Donald finished runner-up in two of the four Playoff events in 2010, including the TOUR Championship (one shot behind Jim Furyk) and the Deutsche Bank Championship (five shots behind Charley Hoffman despite rounds of 65-67-66-69). Donald finished No. 3 in the final 2010 FedExCup standings.

At the Deutsche Bank Championship – If the past is any indication, a win could be in the cards for Luke Donald at this year’s Deutsche Bank Championship. In four previous starts, he has improved his position each year, missing the cut in 2003, finishing T60 in 2007, T54 in 2009 and T2 in 2010.