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Deutsche Bank Championship, Round 1 (PGATOUR.com)

TIGER UPDATE (2:10 p.m.): Last week, Tiger Woods was plagued by a balky putter. In fact, whatever struggles Woods had this year can be attributed to the that and this week is no exception.

PGATOUR.COM Instant AccessDeutsche Bank Championship PGATOUR.COM's The Live Report has all the news and notes from the Deutsche Bank Championship, and we'll be providing updates from TPC Boston all day long for each round, so check back often. (All timestamps are Eastern Time.) PGA TOUR Shot Tracker | Live Scoring | PGA TOUR Network | Facebook | Twitter | FanZone LIVE@: No. 18 | FedExCup LIVE: Follow this week's projected points | PGA TOUR iPhone app

In shooting a ho-hum round of 1-under 70, Woods' ballstriking continued to be solid, while his putting continued to be, well, less than solid. Woods took 30 putts and despite a half-dozen one-putts, he missed four putts from inside 10 feet, including three from the 7-10 foot range. And other than two lengthy putts of 36 and 19 feet, Woods didn't make anything over 6 feet, 1 inch all day today.

As a result, Woods is seven off the lead and well off the pace on a day in which scoring is very good.—Brian Wacker

STRICKER SHOOTS 63 (1:52 p.m.): As mentioned earlier, Steve Stricker has had a remarkable run through the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup each of the last two-plus seasons. That continued last week at The Barclays and it continues this week at the Deutsche Bank Championship, where he just turned in an 8-under 63 to take an early two-shot lead.

The 63 by Stricker ties for his low round of the year—he opened with a pair of 63s at Colonial before losing in a playoff—and it's only one off his career low, a 62 (twice).

On the day, Stricker hit 12 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation while taking just 25 putts. It turns out he also did a pretty good job of foreshadowing, too.

"I enjoy this course. I really like what they've done here the last few years," Stricker said yesterday. "If we have weather like this for four more days, I think the scoring is going to be good."

For Stricker, it was better than good and if you look at his performance this season. Coming into this week, Stricker was second in FedExCup points and fourth in the Official World Golf Rankings—all products of numbers like these: second in scoring average; fifth in putting average; 10th in birdie average; third in proximity to the hole; first in scrambling.

Here's one other number: first on the leaderboard (at least for now).—Brian Wacker

Below is a look at Stricker's scorecard from today:

THREE IN WITH 65s (1:30 p.m.): Scott Verplank, Angel Cabrera and Justin Leonard are all in the clubhouse at 65—proving that you don't have to be long off the tee to play well here at the 7,400-yard TPC Boston.

Cabrera is certainly long off the tee—he ranks seventh on the PGA TOUR at 305.1 yards—but neither Verplank or Leonard rank inside the top 125 with both men averaging just over 280 yards off the tee. When you hit irons as well as Verplank and Leonard, though, distance doesn't always matter. Verplank hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation today, while Leonard hit 13 of 18 while taking just 26 putts. Cabrera wasn't too shabby in that department either—he hit 13 greens and took 25 putts.—Brian Wacker

STRICKER'S STREAK ENDS (1:05 p.m.): So much for the birdie streak and unless Steve Stricker birdies his last two holes today, so much for tying the course record of 61.

After making five straight birdies, Stricker has rattled off three straight pars, including one on the par-5 seventh, where he found a greenside bunker on his approach from 67 yards. He got up-and-down to save par, but the seventh hole is the fifth-easiest on the course right now. with a stroke average of 4.762.

In case you were wondering, Stricker's five straight birdies earlier today weren't even close to a PGA TOUR record. Mark Calcavecchia made nine straight earlier this year at the RBC Canadian Open, breaking the previous record of eight, which was achieved by a half-dozen players.—Brian Wacker

CHASING A RECORD (12:45 p.m.): Steve Stricker, with a few holes left, still has a shot at the TPC Boston course record, currently held by Mike Weir and Vijay Singh at 10 under. Stricker is 8 under through his round, but he'll have to finish on two of the four toughest holes on the course through the morning wave, the par-3 8th and the par-4 9th.—Mike McAllister

Lowest scores by round through the first six years of the Deutsche Bank Championship Round Lowest score Player Year 1 61 Mike Weir 2008 2 62 Adam ScottMarcel SiemTim Clark 200320082008 3 61 Vijay Singh 2006 4 63 Tiger WoodsVijay Singh 20062008 Sip of Maginnes CHEESEHEAD ALERT (12:38 p.m.): Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly have both been quite excited about next week's return of the BMW Championship to Cog Hill. Who could blame them? They have both won there and they both live just a couple of hours away in Madison, Wis. The pair of cheeseheads have both won this year, too, and both are good bets to make next week's 70-man field.

In case that last part was in question, Stricker has gone nuts here in the opening round, while Jerry Kelly is trying to reel in his buddy and flying companion. Kelly just rolled in a 40-footer on the 14th to get to 5 under for the day and within three shots of Stricker. If these two continue their good play throughout this week, the crowd next week could be something akin to Packers-Bears game later this fall.—John Maginnes

TIGER UPDATE (12:30 p.m.): Tiger Woods might have a win and a pair of runner-up finishes in his career at this event, but so far he hasn't been able to generate any momentum in today's opening round.

Woods is 1 under through his first 13 holes with just two birdies and a bogey and he just took a penalty after an errant tee shot on No. 5 (he started on the back).

Only once in five trips to TPC Boston has Woods failed to break par in the opening round of the Deutsche Bank Championship—he shot a 72 in 2007 before eventually finishing in a tie for second—and only three other times has he failed to break par period (72 in the second round in 2006; 73-72 in the second and third rounds in 2005).—Brian Wacker

HARRINGTON HOLDING HIS OWN (12:18 p.m.): Padraig Harrington's tee shots haven't been very accurate thus far. But it hasn't done much damage to his score.

With four holes left on his round, Harrington is 5 under and tied for second on the leaderboard—despite hitting only four of 11 fairways.

In fact, Harrington's round started on an negative note when he suffered a penalty stroke after being forced to take a drop following his opening tee shot on the par-4 10th. But he saved par when he holed a 14-foot putt.

Harrington also drained a 19 1/2-foot birdie putt on the 16th, and a 24-foot, 5-inch birdie putt for birdie on the third. But the biggest roar of the day came after he holed a putt from 55 feet for eagle just off the fringe at the par-5 18th.—Mike McAllister

GAY ON TARGET (12:05 p.m.): Through his first 11 holes, Brian Gay hit five approach shots within 10 feet of the pin, including a stretch of three consecutive holes (see chart below). Angel Cabrera, meanwhile, has hit three consecutive approaches within 10 feet. Gay, who began Thursday's round on the 10th tee, currently is 2 under on his round, while Cabrera is 4 under through 14 holes.—Mike McAllister

Hole Distance to pin Landed Result 12th 196 yards 6 feet, 3 inches par 16th 159 yards 4 feet, 8 inches birdie 18th 140 yards 9 feet, 0 inches birdie 1st 96 yards 8 feet, 3 inches par 2nd 96 yards 7 feet, 3 inches birdie

A SEA OF RED (12 p.m.): This is a day to go low at TPC Boston. There are 49 players in the morning wave and all but 12 are under par for their rounds.

Among those struggling? Hunter Mahan, who dearly wants to be one of Fred Couples' two Captain's Picks for the U.S. Presidents Cup Team on Tuesday.

Mahan had a dreadful start to his back nine, his first of the day—making four bogeys and one double in his first six holes. He rallied with birdies at Nos. 17 and 18 and just got up and down at the drivable par-4 fourth hole for another to move back to 3 over. Mahan doesn't have to worry about advancing to the BMW Championship, though. He entered the Deutsche Bank Championship ranked 15th in the FedExCup standings and the top 33 are safe for another week.—Helen Ross

MAJOR PAIRING (11:50 a.m.): When the trio of Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Geoff Ogilvy tee off today at 12:58 p.m. ET, it will be the first time the three former major champions have been in the same threesome in a PGA TOUR event.

The pairings for the first two rounds of each Playoffs event are determined by the FedExCup points rankings. Mickelson, Els and Ogilvy currently stand 10th, 11th and 12th, respectively, in points.

Mickelson and Els, both three-time major winners, have been paired together in two previous events this year—the first two rounds of the U.S. Open and the first two rounds of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.

Mickelson was last paired with Ogilvy, the 2006 U.S. Open champ, in the third round of the Masters in April.

Ogilvy and Els were last paired together in the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship. They also played together in the first two rounds of the Northern Trust Open and the Masters.—Mike McAllister

BUBBLE BOY (11:41 a.m.): Daniel Chopra has the dubious distinction of being the last man into the field at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Chopra started the Playoffs ranked No. 100 and maintained that spot after tying for 58th at The Barclays last week. He recovered well after opening with a 77 that otherwise could have spelled disaster but needs a big finish at the Deutsche Bank Championship to advance another week.

The Swede is continuing his good play at TPC Boston, too. He's played his first nine holes in 4 under and is three shots off the lead held by Steve Stricker.

Chopra started on the back and set the tone for the day when he made a 6-footer for birdie at No. 10. He then reeled off three in a row starting at No. 15—sinking birdie putts of 10, 13 and 20 feet.—Helen Ross

ON THE REBOUND (11:30 a.m.): Greg Chalmers didn't overanalyze the FedExCup points system at the beginning of the year. He did pay attention to the thresholds, though—125 for The Barclays, 100 for the Deutsche Bank Championship, 70 for the BMW Championship and the all-important top 30 for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.

The Aussie knew he put himself behind the eight-ball when he missed the cut at The Barclays and dropped from 79th to No. 94 in the standings. So far at TPC Boston, though, Chalmers is taking care of business—playing his first 13 holes in 4 under, which leaves him one shot off the current lead.

"I've always gone with the theory that if you play well everything else will sort itself out," Chalmers had said on the range Tuesday. "So whatever the rules and regulations and the points and this and that, they're all negated by the fact that I have to play well. So I didn't really look at the ins and outs of it.

"I knew for the first one I had to be in the 125. I knew the breakdown of what got it but I didn't know if I won a tournament that I'd get 5 points or 500. I just knew that I had to play well."

Chalmers hasn't made a bogey during today's first round. He started on the back nine and rolled in a 33-inch putt for birdie at No. 17. Chalmers chipped in at the par-5 second and added another birdie at the drivable par-4 fourth when he got up and down from over the green.

That's a far cry from the 82 he shot in the second round at Liberty National—and much more like the way Chalmers played in tying for second at the Buick Open five weeks ago.

"I was disappointed with my performance last week," he said. "But ultimately, it seems like every week out here there's some kind of pressure anyway. I have a list of things I'd love to achieve, but really, my crystal ball doesn't work so well sometimes. I can't tell you what's going to happen."

So Chalmers is going out to try to make something happen, instead.—Helen Ross

STRICKER ON A HOT STREAK (11:15 a.m.): If Steve Stricker keeps playing the way he is right now, he might have a new nickname soon. Perhaps Mr. September.

Stricker, who was a runner-up at last week's Barclays (after missing a 10-foot putt on the last hole that would have forced a playoff), is off to a strong start here at the Deutsche Bank Championship, where he's 5 under through his first 10 holes.

Stricker has missed just one fairway and one green in regulation so far and has the flat stick working with only 14 putts through those 10 holes.

For his career, in Playoffs events excluding THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, Stricker has five top-10s in seven events and has never finished outside the top 20 (see chart below). Not to get too ahead of things, but you get the feeling he's going to continue that trend this week ( to follow his round live with Shot Tracker).—Brian Wacker

Steve Stricker in the Playoffs Year Tournament Result 2009 The Barclays T2 2008 The Barclays T19 Deutsche Bank Championship T13 BMW Championship T10 THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola T24 2007 The Barclays 1 Deutsche Bank Championship T9 BMW Championship 3 THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola T17

TWEET OF THE DAY (11 a.m.): "On the putting green at the Deutsche Bank getting some work done while everyone is out playing."—Paul Casey (@Paul_Casey ) about an hour ago.

Casey hasn't played since the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, where he withdrew in the first round with a rib injury. He also pulled out of each of the first two events in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, though has since listed himself as "probable" for next week's BMW Championship outside Chicago.—Brian Wacker

WHO'S IN, WHO'S NOT … YET (10:47 a.m.): Anyone in the top 33 in the FedExCup standings coming into this week is already guaranteed a spot in the field for next week's BMW Championship in Chicago, where the top 70 players in the standings will advance to after this week.

That means that Paul Goydos is already in and that Anthony Kim isn't. Kim comes into this week 34th in the standings, but he is off to a solid start so far at 1 under through his first nine holes this morning.

Also not guaranteed a spot next week: Ryan Moore. Despite winning the Wyndham Championship the week before the Playoffs for the FedExCup began, he is 35th. If there's a better example of how important a win is in the Playoffs compared to a win in the regular season than the one of Moore and Barclays winner Heath Slocum, you'd be hard-pressed to find it.—Brian Wacker

EAGLE LANDS FOR HARRINGTON (10:34 a.m.): Padraig Harrington continues to show that his struggles amid swing changes and erratic iron play, are a thing of the past. The three-time major champion just made the turn from the back to the front in 3 under here at TPC Boston, where he bombed in a 55-foot putt on the 18th hole for eagle (also our LIVE@ hole for the week; to watch live).

That start has Harrington hovering near the top of the leaderboard right now, just two back of Scott Verplank for the moment. Harrington does have company, though—eight other guys, including Steve Stricker, are also at 3 under right now.—Brian Wacker

VERPLANK GOING LOW (10:23 a.m.): Scott Verplank, who moved from 61st to 37th in the FedExCup standings thanks to a tie for ninth at The Barclays, is looking to make another big jump this week. Verplank just made the turn in 5-under 31 on the front nine here at TPC Boston, where he's bogey-free with three birdies and an eagle so far.

The eagle for the length-challenged Verplank (he averages just over 280 yards off the tee) came on the 550-yard par-5 second, where he hit it to 11 1/2 feet from 223 yards out. Verplank rolled in the putt and added the three birdies over his next five holes.

Verplank hasn't won since the 2007 EDS Byron Nelson Championship, but he's played well this year with five top-10s, including three in a row at one point in June and July.—Brian Wacker

TIGER MAKES IT OFFICIAL (10:05 a.m.): Tiger Woods ( to follow his round live with Shot Tracker) said last week that he plans to play all four events in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Today, he made his committed to next week's BMW Championship ( for tickets) at Cog Hill official.

Cog Hill will be a vastly different course, however, than the one Woods obliterated with a 22-under total at the 2007 BMW Championship. After that victory, Rees Jones was brought in—perhaps in part to try to lure a U.S. Open to the venerable course—and he made some significant changes. Among them: new, more difficult greens; deeper bunkers; more tee boxes.—Brian Wacker

THIS WEEK'S HEATH SLOCUM? (9:45 a.m.): If Ryuji Imada hopes to —be the second-to-last guy to make it into the field then go on to win—he'll need to rebound from a slow start this morning. Imada is 1 over through his first two holes with a bogey on the par-3 11th.

As for whether Slocum's jump from 124th in the FedExCup standings to third following last week's win was too big a jump, sure enough it was a topic among some of the players earlier this week.

"We don't know what the right answer is," Steve Stricker said. "You can debate that until you're blue in the face if you want. I think Heath made a great quote at the end of the tournament after he had won, saying that it was like a playoff—like a wildcard team that had just gotten into the Playoffs and then he won his first event, and now he's got a chance to win it all."

Indeed it was. The first year of the Playoffs, it was widely thought there was too little movement, meaning that anyone—in that case Tiger Woods—with a big lead didn't even have to play all the events to capture the FedExCup. last year, some thought the points system was too volatile.

"If you win, I think you should be up near the top," Stricker continued. "I don't know if 3 is the right number or whatever, but I do think that he should be in THE TOUR Championship for sure, and I think that pretty much guarantees him of that. But I don't know. You could question the points all you want, but I don't know what the right thing is."

Perhaps defending Deutsche Bank Championship winner Vijay Singh summed it up the best, though.

"I just have to go out there and just play and try to win the golf tournament and not worry about where I stand in the points," Singh said.—Brian Wacker

FAST START (9:15 a.m.): Last year, Vijay Singh won the Deutsche Bank Championship with a tournament-record 22-under 262. This year, we could be looking at a similar winning score with the very early leaders here at TPC Boston already at 3 under through first four or five holes.

In fact, the highest winning score since this event began in 2003 was a 14-under 270 by Olin Browne in 2005. With perfect weather expected for the entire weekend, and the course playing soft right now, don't expect anything but low numbers this week.—Brian Wacker

Groups We're Watching Tee time Players   8:40 a.m. ET, Hole No. 10 Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Heath SlocumThe 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 IIIThe 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 MahanThe back-to-life Irishman and two of this season's hottest players should put on a show. Live Essentials Follow every shot with our newest application The only place on the Internet for real-time live scoring Listen to expert commentary on the PGA TOUR Network News, notes, stats and analysis during each round

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