Course work is complete
All systems go at TPC Boston
NORTON -- Yesterday was for tents and monster boards, cable wires and metal stakes, props and trash cans.
Birdies and bogeys?
Those will come, when golf takes center stage at the fifth edition of the
And if you never thought of these PGA Tour events as being played upon stages, think again.
"There's 140,000 square feet of flooring. That's two football fields," said Eric Baldwin, championship director of a production that involves constructing more than 80 tents, stringing together 5 miles of rope and 5 miles of security fences, and the pounding in of hundreds and hundreds of stakes.
"And our birdhouses," said Baldwin, a reference to one of the special touches he and his staff have applied to the DBC to make it stand out. The birdhouses were part of yesterday's activity, which was mostly devoted to last-minute details, like where to place the trash receptacles and adjustments to some of the roped-off areas. Mostly, the aesthetics, because the DBC is not a stage act that comes together overnight.
"It's a six-week build," said Baldwin, who along with his staff works year-round on a championship that generates millions of dollars for charity.
That, of course, is an aspect of the championship that takes a back seat to another number -- $7 million.
It represents the purse that will be up for grabs when play commences Friday, but eye-popping as that is, there's another layer of intrigue surrounding this year's championship that provides Baldwin with a sense of newness, even as he oversees the operational setup for a fifth straight Labor Day weekend.
"There's definitely a feeling this year that we've got a little different look," said Baldwin. "We pride ourselves on our setup and our appearance and we're always doing something new and different, but with the number of players who'll be here for the first time, we definitely want to make sure their first impression is a good one."
It's all part of the first-ever PGA Tour playoffs, of which the DBC is the second stop in a series of four tournaments. And while no one has confused this chase for the
"In that way, we'll find ourselves under the microscope," said Baldwin.
He's not alone, because the PGA Tour's playoff system is also being scrutinized. All season, players have withheld judgment, most of them citing the desire to see how it plays out. Well, after the first playoff tournament -- The Barclays at Westchester CC in New York -- concluded yesterday, surely there had to be some head-scratching.
Oh, the winner, Steve Stricker, was most deserving, considering how many times he's been in the hunt in the last two seasons. That he moved from 12th to first in the FedEx Cup standings and that Tiger Woods dropped from first to fourth after choosing to sit out The Barclays aren't curious happenings, either. No, what had players shaking their heads was the lack of movement in the standings, especially down below.
The top 144 qualified for The Barclays (only 138 teed it up, however) and as part of the playoff-like feel the PGA Tour wants to generate, only the top 120 in the standings were going to advance to TPC Boston. But as things played out, there were only two players from outside the top 120 who played their way into the DBC. Rich Beem went from No. 134 to 113 on the strength of a tie for seventh, while unheralded Doug LaBelle moved up one position to secure the 120th spot.
Though he was well down the leaderboard at Westchester, LaBelle went to the 18th hole suspecting he needed a birdie for any sort of chance. "I'm a numbers guy. I have been following the points," he said. When he made a 6-footer for birdie at the par-5 18th, LaBelle had a round of 68--281, and being tied for 41st provided him with enough FedEx Cup points (170) to jump over Steve Allan, who missed the cut.
In no way does that give LaBelle reason to dream of that $10 million annuity that will go to the winner of the FedEx Cup. Truthfully, he realizes he's a long shot to be within the top 70 in the standings following the DBC and thus eligible for playoff week No. 3, the BMW Championship in Chicago. But LaBelle sees that clutch putt at the 18th hole as having extended his season to one more $7 million purse.
"I'm looking at the Deutsche Bank tournament as a bonus," said LaBelle.
Brett Quigley suggests there weren't enough stories similar to LaBelle's at Westchester. As it turns out, with only two guys moving into the top 120 and two moving out (Allan, Matthew Goggin), it appears that not enough points were available to ignite suspense.
"All the players feel that way, too," said Quigley, who concedes he didn't study the points that much until the days leading up to The Barclays. He entered the week tied for 118th and simply set out to play as well as he could. In the end, he did, but not before his heart stopped on the 17th green as he lined up a 20-foot putt. At the time he was 1 under on his round, 3 under on the tournament, and Quigley had every reason to suspect he was still around 118th in the standings.
"Then as I looked at my putt, I looked up and saw the [monster] board had me at tied for 121st in the standings," said Quigley. "I literally had to back off and catch myself."
He made that birdie putt, then discovered at the 18th tee that the board was wrong. Quigley was projected for 116th place in the FedEx Cup standings and while he breathed easier, "it was more than enough drama for me."
When he birdied the 18th to finish in a tie for 25th, Quigley discovered that he had done enough to finish 115th in the standings and thus earn a trip to TPC Boston.
That's the good news; the bad? He assumes he's got to finish top three at the DBC to get his spot in the BMW field, but then again, who knows?
"That's it. You don't know," said Justin Leonard, who was among the visitors to TPC Boston who had anything to do with real golf. He had missed the cut at The Barclays and decided to get a glimpse at the many changes to the DBC venue. At 85th in the FedEx Cup standings, Leonard, like Quigley, can guess at what he needs to do to get a trip to Chicago, "but it's hard to think about that. You just try to play as well as you can."
Today is the deadline for purchasing daily tickets to the championship. You can either do so via the website dbchampionship.com or by calling 1-877-849-4322 . . . Brad Faxon hadn't qualified for the playoffs series and now he won't be playing in the fall finish after the Tour Championship, either. The 24-year PGA Tour veteran had surgery on his right foot and will be sidelined for the next six-to-eight weeks . . . Seth Waugh, the CEO of the Deutsche Bank Americas, will be joined by Woods tomorrow morning as they ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange . . . South African Tim Clark, who'll tee it up in the DBC ranked 31st in the FedEx Cup standings, will appear from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday at Pine Oaks GC in Easton. He'll give a clinic for the first hour, then sign autographs.
Jim McCabe can be reached at jmccabe@globe.com. 