Round 1: Deutsche Bank Championship

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Sep. 4, 2009
By PGATOUR.com Staff

The first groups are ready to tee off at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Here's how it sets up:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
8:40 a.m. ET, Hole No. 10		Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Heath Slocum The top three in the FedExCup standings, including latest champ Slocum, will play together on Friday.
12:34 p.m. ET, Hole No. 10		Davis Love III, Webb Simpson, Charles Howell III The rookie who made a big jump last week will play with TOUR veterans in the first two rounds.
8:16 a.m. ET, Hole No. 10		David Toms, Padraig Harrington, Hunter Mahan The back-to-life Irishman and two of this season's hottest players should put on a show.

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR on-site correspondent Fred Albers previews Friday's round:

Friday's forecast

Partly Cloudy
Temp: 79 high/58 low
Partly cloudy. Winds from the northeast at 6 mph.

There have been a couple of tweaks to the TPC Boston course this year, and one of them is a new tee on the 15th. It's a 426-yard par 4, but a new tee has been added to the left, which sits below the fairway. The new tee makes for a blind shot, always a challenge for players. The 15th still offers a great birdie opportunity, but the blind tee shot has caught the players' attention this week.

TPC courses are famous for mounding, which affords great viewing opportunities, but TPC Boston also features some of the best bunkering on TOUR. With pockets of fescue inside the bunkers, they are both visually striking and intimidating. In fact, there is a little bit of a "Pine Valley" look to some of the bunkering this week.

Tiger Woods must think every PGA TOUR event is mass of humanity. Every time the world's No. 1 player is on the course, he seemingly sucks every bit of gallery into his vortex. Even in Thursday's Pro-Am, Woods had a huge following. Other players are always struck by the number of fans when paired with Woods for the first time, and it can be an intimidating factor.

It seems fitting that just days before Arnold Palmer's 80th birthday, the PGA TOUR is visting a course designed by the King. Palmer has given players lots of distractions, with mounding and bunkering. At first glance, TPC Boston appears a tight golf course. That's a visual trick. The fairways are generous; the greens are large and receptive, but as players glance from the tee to the fairway, shots seem more intimidating than in actuality. Veterans usually play well at TPC Boston.

Stat of the day

Defending champion Vijay Singh shot a tournament-record 22-under 262 last year at the Deutsche Bank Championship to become the tournament's only two-time winner.

The Film Room

	Preview: 2009 Deutsche Bank Championship The PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup head to TPC Boston for the 2009 Deutsche Bank Championship, where the field will be cut to 70 players. Watch it
	Woods breaks down key holes at TPC Boston Take a tour through four key holes at TPC Boston, host venue of the Deutsche Bank Championship, courtesy of EA Sports and Tiger Woods. Watch it
	Memorable Moments Check out Tiger Woods' '06 win, the dramatic '07 battle between Phil Mickelson and Woods, Vijay Singh's masterful putting in '08. Watch it