Deutsche Bank is linked to grand plan

Just how all the pieces will come together remains to be seen, but this much appears certain: When plans for the new-look 2007 PGA Tour schedule are unveiled -- perhaps as early as next week at the Tour Championship -- the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston in Norton will be prominently mentioned.

The tournament will be smack in the middle of some very rich action, and such a thought pleases Seth Waugh. ''We've said all along that we have a commitment to Boston," said Waugh, the CEO of Deutsche Bank. ''From the very start we wanted to truly be one of the very special weeks of the year and we're excited to have the chance to be part of something even more special."

Specific details are unknown, but various tournament directors and several players have confirmed the concept thusly:

A series of four straight tournaments would begin in late August, after the PGA Championship, and be united by a NASCAR-like points race that will feature a bonus pool that could pay out $10 million to the winner. The four tournaments would be the Barclay's Classic at Westchester Country Club in New York, the Deutsche Bank Championship over Labor Day weekend, the Western Open in Chicago, then the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta, and while each would feature a purse that could be as high as $7.5 million, the points race is seen as extravagant enticement to assure consistent attendance by the world's best players at end-of-summer tournaments. The fact that the Tour Championship -- a season finale held in early November and overlooked by football audiences frozen to TV games everywhere -- would move to mid-September, and thus gain a higher profile, is a key component to this reported plan.

To get in contention for the $10 million payoff, players accumulate points during the season. To be determined is how many players get into the points race headed into the Barclay's and how the standings will be pared back at the Deutsche Bank and the Western so that only the top 30 make it into the Tour Championship.

A season-long money list will still be used as the basis for retaining playing privileges and there will still be tournaments after the Tour Championship, though they would mostly feature smaller purses, fewer marquee names, and, most importantly, a smaller TV fee required of the sponsor since these events would more than likely be relegated to a cable network.

The plan is a work in progress, but it's good news for the Deutsche Bank Championship, already a special tournament.

Uihlein in select company

It's been quite an impressive stretch of play for Peter Uihlein, the 16-year-old from North Dartmouth who is a sophomore at the IMG/Leadbetter Academy in Bradenton, Fla. With three consecutive rounds of 71, Uihlein won the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Junior in Alabama, a major tournament on the AJGA circuit and his third significant victory of the year. He also won the AJGA First American Title Junior Classic and the Bobby Chapman Invitational. There's no denying he has a flair for the dramatic, because at the Bobby Chapman, Uihlein closed eagle, par, eagle, birdie to shoot 64 and win, then he finished birdie, birdie to triumph in Alabama. Those victories firmly established Uihlein as one of the premier junior golfers in the world and that will be officially confirmed today when he is named AJGA Player of the Year. Consider that Billy Andrade, Phil Mickelson (three straight), David Duval, Tiger Woods (twice), and Charles Howell have preceded Uihlein as honorees and you get an idea how much of an achievement it is. ''It's an amazing honor," said Uihlein. ''This wasn't something I really expected; it wasn't even really a goal I thought I could accomplish this year." During the 2005 season, Uihlein played in 16 AJGA events, won twice, placed top five in five others, had a stroke average of 71.33, and recorded 29 rounds of par or better. Named a first-team AJGA All-American, Uihlein was one of two locals so honored, along with Kimberly Donovan of Hopkinton. Brittany Altomare of Shrewsbury received honorable mention.

Recognition well deserved

For perspective on just how rich a legacy he has carved, consider that in the same year Charlie Volpone won the State Amateur, a gentleman by the name of Ed ''Porky" Oliver captured the State Open. Yes, the same Porky Oliver who was great friends with men named Hogan and Snead. We're talking 1956, but if you want to kick off a sort of 50th anniversary celebration to commemorate Volpone's storied career in local golf circles, now is a good time because tomorrow night he'll be justly rewarded with a spot in the New England PGA Hall of Fame. Volpone competed brilliantly for decades, and always treated the game and its people with unyielding respect. From those early days at Concord CC, Volpone has had a passion for the game, both as an amateur and a pro. Following his State Amateur triumph, he turned pro and he won back-to-back State Opens in 1971-72, added two NEPGA Championship titles, and was a six-time NEPGA player of the year. Having been reinstated as an amateur, Volpone teamed with Joe Keller to twice win the MGA Four-Ball Championship. He has since returned to the pro ranks and is currently associated with The Golf Club at Cape Cod, which is still being built . . . Jim Lane, the longtime head professional at Winchester CC, has been elected president of the NEPGA and Craig McLean of Dorset Field Club in Vermont is the new secretary-treasurer. Jim Tobin of Bellevue Golf Club in Melrose will serve as honorary president. In addition, four members were named as representatives of the various chapters within the NEPGA: Steve Mann of Wollaston GC in Milton (Southern Massachusetts), Steve Demmer of The Kittansett Club in Marion (Cape Cod), Terry O'Hara of Cyprian Keyes in Boylston (Central Massachusetts), and Larry Kelley of Cleveland Golf (Vermont) . . . Jason Parajeckas of Woburn, fresh off his victory at the NEIGA Championship on Cape Cod, made it two straight wins by shooting 72-79--151 to prevail by one at the Hawks Invitational in Bloomfield, Conn. In the process, Parajeckas powered his University of Connecticut Huskies to an 18-shot triumph . . . At Fenway GC in Scarsdale, N.Y., former Hopkinton High School standout Keegan Bradley, a sophomore at St. John's, shot 73-71--144 to score a four-shot win in The Tillinghast. St. John's won the team competition by 11.

Doyle will take a shot

He had hoped to return to competition a week ago, but the knee just didn't feel right, so Allen Doyle will try again. The US Senior Open champion is scheduled to tee it up today at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, the final Champions Tour event of the season. Last month, Doyle had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and he's sat out the last five tournaments. ''It wasn't a case of if I was going to have [surgery], but when I was going to have it," said Doyle. ''I could play, but I couldn't walk." Asked if all those end-to-end rushes and body checks during his glory years of hockey had anything to do with it, Doyle laughed. ''I'm sure that those years of wear and tear were a contributing factor." . . . Dana Quigley will take a $111,912 lead over Hale Irwin into the season's final tournament as he tries to nail down his first money title. With a 345-point lead in the Schwab Cup, Quigley also is in position to win a million-dollar annuity for his season-long excellence . . . Hard to believe, given he won eight times in 35 starts over his first two years, but Craig Stadler is winless on the Champions Tour in 2005 . . . The Schwab Cup Championship is for the top 30 money winners and this year's field will be without Larry Nelson, who is 47th after having not been worse than 18th in any of the seven previous seasons. Also missing is Doug Tewell (58th), who had qualified in each of his first five seasons, and Fuzzy Zoeller (55th), who had been 3 for 3 . . . Jay Haas had planned on playing in this week's PGA Tour stop in Tampa -- the Chrysler Championship -- but when he won for the second time in three weeks on the Champions Tour last Sunday, it earned him a spot in the Schwab Cup Championship. In his last four Champions Tour events, Haas is 50 under par, having shot sub-70 scores in 10 of his 12 rounds.

Don't drink and drive

Fairway news: Ketel One vodka and the PGA Tour announce a business partnership.

Clubhouse view: Possible slogan, ''After tee time, it's martini time."

Fairway news: Lucas Glover finishes birdie, birdie -- the latter by holing a greenside bunker shot -- to win the Funai Classic at Walt Disney World, his first PGA Tour triumph.

Clubhouse view: That's the good news. The bad? He had to pose with that insufferable mouse for a hundred pictures.

Park on short end

When Michelle Wie inked a contract with Nike that reportedly will pay her $5 million for each of the next four years, it was only natural to wonder how that would settle with other LPGA Tour members who wear the Swoosh. Most notably, Grace Park, who signed a deal in 2003 that reportedly is worth close to $2 million over four years. It doesn't take a math major to determine that $5 million a year is a lot more than $500,000, but Park insists there isn't any a hint of resentment at the disparity. ''I've been with Nike for three years," said Park, 26. ''I'm very happy with them and I know they're happy with me. She's a super talent. She's a phenom. She brings that much more interest to our game. She deserves having all that. All the power to her." Did Park envision making a Nike commercial with Wie? She shook her head. ''I don't like to be with girls who are taller than me," she said. Park is 5 feet 6 inches. Wie is 6 feet . . . Wie's next appearance will be Thanksgiving weekend at the Casio World Open in Japan, but she isn't the only young woman who'll be challenging the men. Ai Miyazato, the 21-year-old star of women's golf in Japan, will tee it up against the men Dec. 15-18 in the Asia Japan Okinawa Open . . . There is no end to the situations that set Wie apart from her colleagues. For instance, those quiet times put aside for reading. While most of the women probably pick books that are currently on best-seller's lists, Wie frowned when asked what she was reading during the recent Samsung World Championship. ''This one book is not really long, but it's a hard book. It's for school, but it's keeping me occupied. It's the 'Scarlet Letter.' " And so far as I know, Nathaniel Hawthorne knew not a thing about a good shoulder turn.