Notebook: Pavin coming to town, Fowler hopeful; Tiger scenarios

Chris Condon/PGA TOUR

Rory McIlroy, who has a win this year, is Rickie Fowler's biggest competition for Rookie of the Year honors.

NORTON, Mass. -- U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin plans to be at TPC Boston this week, getting one last look at the players who are hoping to earn one of his captain's picks.

PGA TOUR rookie Rickie Fowler knows there are no guarantees he'll get a pick. But at least he knows he's on Pavin's radar screen.

"He actually texted me last night, said he was going to be out here this week, just kind of doing his captain's roles," Fowler said Wednesday.

Since Pavin will announce his picks next Tuesday, Fowler knows this is his last chance to make an impression. Fowler currently ranks 20th in Ryder Cup points, with the eight players at the top already guaranteed spots.

"If I'm in those four, it's awesome," he said, "but hopefully it's not my last chance to play a Ryder Cup."

However, this year is his only chance to win the Rookie of the Year honors. Rory McIlroy would seem to have the inside track thanks to his win at the Quail Hollow Championship.

Fowler would logically be his closest pursuer, thanks to a couple of runner-up finishes. Fowler said if he grading this season, it would be an A or A-minus.

"I really haven't worried about it too much this year," Fowler said of the Rookie race. "Obviously ... I'd love to be Rookie of the Year at the end of the year.

"But like I said, our main focus is right now, play well this week, play well and try to make it to THE TOUR Championship and the FedExCup, and to keep having fun."

STREELMAN EYES HOME GAME: Kevin Streelman was born in Winfield, Ill., a suburb west of Chicago. He went to Cog Hill Golf and Country Club on weekends to take lessons.

But he's never played the course when it has hosted the BMW Championship, site of next week's Playoffs event.

He will this year, though.

Thanks to his tie for third at The Barclays, Streelman is now ranked 18th in FedExCup points. His worst possible rank going into this week's Deutsche Bank Championship is a drop to 47th -- which would still keep him safely inside the top 70 that advance to Cog Hill

"I know that course very, very well," Streelman said of Cog Hill. "And I'm going to have a great gallery out there.

"It's nice to know no matter what happens this week, I'll be in next week."

That's not to say Streelman will take it easy this week at TPC Boston. He knows that big leap up the FedExCup rankings last week -- he moved up 84 spots from his 102nd position going into the Playoffs -- has given him an excellent shot to reach THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.

No need to let up on the gas now.

"The goals have changed now," Streelman said. "I want to make sure I continue to play well and stay in the top 30 and get to Atlanta."

WHAT WILL TIGER NEED?: Tiger Woods moved from 112th to 65th in points thanks to his tie for 12th at The Barclays. This is his best FedExCup ranking of the year.

Right now, Woods is inside the bubble for the top 70 players who'll advance to next week's BMW Championship. But to secure his spot, he'll need to finish no worse than 57th at TPC Boston, according to the TOUR's FedExCup experts

To earn a spot in the top 30 who'll play in THE TOUR Championship, Woods will likely need either two 8th-or-better finishes in the next two events, or a single third-place finish in either tournament.

QUICK NOTES: Massachusetts native Tim Petrovic and Connecticut-born J.J. Henry are two of New England's golfing sons. The two have started every Deutsche Bank Championship since the tournament began in 2003. Petrovic ranks 58th in points; Henry 82nd ... In case you're wondering, the estimated FedExCup points needed to move on to next week's BMW Championship range between 800-825.