Baldy's Blue Notes 9/7/09 - September 7th

Another Deutsche Bank Championship is in the books and man, what a finish it was!

You knew coming into Monday’s final round with 16 players within three shots of the lead, that there would be drama and thankfully, those players didn’t disappoint.

The day started with an incredible round by Tiger Woods that included a hole out for eagle from 131 yards on the 6th hole and which, for a while, put him within a shot of lead despite beginning the day nine back. His rally fell a little short, but it certainly made for some excitement through the early afternoon.

From the leaders there were plenty of birdies and, late in the day there were seven players either tied for the lead or within a shot. Many great late-round rallies, including two by Angel Cabrera and Padraig Harrington, just ran out of holes. And when 5 p.m. rolled around, it had turned into a three-horse race.

Jason Dufner, who fired a 31 on the front nine, was the first to enter the clubhouse at 16-under-par. Moments later Scott Verplank finished his round with four birdies and nearly eagled the par-5 18th to join Dufner at -16.

But it was Steve Stricker who really had the flair for the dramatic. Stricker, sitting one back with two to play, rolled home a birdie putt from 15 feet on 17. And then after blasting a drive on 18, reached the green in two and made a beautiful chip from the rough in back of the green to leave himself a 2-foot birdie putt for the victory.

It was Stricker’s third win of the season and second PGA TOUR Playoff victory. It was also a little extra sweet after finishing runner up last weekend in the first Playoff event.

The win was the perfect ending to an ideal week. You can’t say enough about how incredible the weather was all week and that was capped by a dry, comfortable Monday that drew massive crowds to TPC Boston. It’s always great to have such hard work by the Championship staff and all of our volunteers to be rewarded with perfect weather.

I want to take this time to thank everyone who made this week possible. Our staff and our volunteers are first rate. They do a great job in helping put this event together and making it run smooth all week. I also want to thank Brad Williams from the TPC Boston and his staff. There were so many golfers who commented how incredible the course was and how perfect the greens were throughout the entire week. That’s a real credit to the work of the staff here at TPC Boston.

Lastly, I have to thank all of our sponsors, particularly title sponsor Deutsche Bank. Once again, through the work of all of our sponsors, we’ve made a great impact on the local community. We’ll be tallying charitable donations for weeks to come and are so pleased to once again have raised millions of dollars for the Tiger Woods Foundation and other New England charities.

So, with another Deutsche Bank Championship in the books, I sincerely hope that all of you enjoyed your time spent with us. I can’t wait to do it again next Labor Day weekend.