Tiger looks for five in a row

BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2006 Deutsche Bank Championship | Preview | 30 Aug 2006

This week’s Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston, provides the opportunity for Tiger Woods, if he is not already there, to return to the halcyon days of 1999 and 2000, when he last put together a winning streak of five consecutive wins. Between August of 1999 and February of 2000 Woods won six consecutive events on the PGA Tour and, given his dominance of late, appears on track to give that record a shake

Woods has won his last four events on the PGA Tour and was runner up in the one prior, this amazing run coming after his missed cut at the US Open following the death of his father. If he is able to win, it will be his eighth win in fifteen world wide starts in 2006.

Woods returns from a fleeting visit to Ireland where he joined the US Ryder Cup Team in preparations for the Ryder Cup later this month. This will be Woods’ fourth visit to the Arnold Palmer designed Tournament Players Club of Boston and while he has yet to register a win in this event he has been close enough in two of his three outings to suggest his first win might just be a matter of days away.

Woods was runner up to Vijay Singh in 2004 in a week which saw him lose his crown as the world number one and it would take him until the Masters, seven months later, for him to regain the status of the world’s leading player – on paper.

Adam Scott is a winner and runner up in the two times he has played the event and given the manner in which he has been playing of late, his love affair with the par 70, 6985 yard layout built in 2002 might just continue.

Vijay Singh is a little hard to work out right now in terms of what he might do this week. Clearly he has a liking for the golf course but he has been noticeably absent from contention in recent weeks and it will require some sort of turnaround for him to challenge the more in form players it would seem.

Sean O’Hair finished 15th in his only appearance in this event twelve months ago and there is enough to like about his recent form to indicate that he might do even better this year. O’Hair was 12th at the PGA and 4th at the Buick Open which is form good enough to challenge this week should the likes of Woods and Scott not be at their best.

Kenny Perry has missed only one cut in his last tens starts and although he hasn’t exactly contended for a title during that time, he has been on the improve. He has not played in this event previously but that might not stop him from a good week.

Lucas Glover did very well at Firestone last week and although in both times to this event he has been less than impressive, he is a more experienced and credentialed player now.

Of the others and certainly worth a thought for longer odds are Jeff Brehaut, Billy Andrade, Steve Flesch and Vaughn Taylor.

The Australasians in the field, aside from Scott, are Robert Allenby, who is not without a chance, Aaron Baddeley, Steve Bowditch, Greg Chalmers, Steve Elkington, Mattie Goggin, Nathan Green, Mark Hensby, Stephen Leaney, Peter Lonard, David McKenzie, John Senden and Phil Tataurangi.

The tournament has prizemoney of US5.5 million.

Photo – Anthony Powter