First-Round Notes – Friday, September 2, 2016
Weather: Partly sunny and cooler, with a high of 76 degrees. Wind ENE 6-12 mph.
FedExCup and The Deutsche Bank Championship
- Projected Points needed to advance to the BMW Championship: 1,561
- The top 30 players following the BMW Championship qualify for next week’s TOUR Championship. Prior to the TOUR Championship, a points reset will take place, giving all players in the field a mathematical opportunity to win the FedExCup title. The top five players control their own destiny and would claim the FedExCup with a victory at East Lake.
- Vijay Singh (2008) and Henrik Stenson (2013) are the only players to win the Deutsche Bank Championship and FedExCup title in the same year (2008). Singh is also the only player to win the Deutsche Bank Championship twice (2004, 2008).
First-Round Leaderboard
James Hahn 65 (-6)
Ryan Moore 65 (-6)
Fabian Gomez 66 (-5)
Paul Casey 66 (-5)
Brian Stuard 66 (-5)
Jhonattan Vegas 66 (-5)
James Hahn
With a birdie at his last hole of the day, No. 9, James Hahn made six birdies and no bogeys to open with a 6-under 65. In relation to par, the 65 is his lowest on the PGA TOUR since posting the same score in round two of this year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open (T17).
Hahn was a perfect 14 for 14 at fairways in regulation in round one and he hit 15 of 18 greens.
In Hahn’s only other start at the Deutsche Bank Championship, he posted scores of 77-70 last year to miss the cut.
Hahn claimed his second career TOUR win earlier this year at the Wells Fargo Championship. In addition to the win at the Quail Hollow Club, he finished inside the top 10 at the CIMB Classic (6th). Despite missing his last two cuts before this week at the Travelers Championship and The Barclays, he comes into the week ranked 55th in the FedExCup standings.
Hahn claimed his first win at the 2015 Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
This marks Hahn’s third 18-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA TOUR. At the 2013 CareerBuilder Challenge, he finished T4 and at the 2015 Northern Trust Open, he won in sudden death.
Ryan Moore
In just his third start since claiming his fifth career PGA TOUR title at the John Deere Classic, Ryan Moore made six birdies and no bogeys to post a 6-under 65.
En route to his win at TPC Deere Run three weeks ago, Moore was one stroke back after round one at 6-under 65.
By virtue of making it to last week’s The Barclays, Moore has extended his streak of FedExCup Playoffs’ appearances to a perfect 10 for 10. He finished T7 at Bethpage last week and jumped to No. 11 in the FedExCup standings.
In 29 FedExCup Playoffs starts before this week, Moore has collected seven top-10 finishes.
Moore has previously held an 18-hole lead/co-lead five times, with the 2012 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open being the one he converted into victory.
Moore is in search of his sixth career PGA TOUR win this week.
First-Round Lead Notes
The highest 18-hole lead at the Deutsche Bank Championship came in 2006 when Tiger Woods opened with a 5-under 66.
Tiger Woods (2006) and Steve Stricker (2009) are the only first-round leaders/co-leaders at the Deutsche Bank Championship to carry that lead on to victory.
Fabian Gomez
In the final round of last year’s Deutsche Bank Championship, Argentina’s Fabian Gomez’ bogey-free, 7-under 64 was the lowest score of the day by two strokes. In his first round at TPC Boston since, he added six more birdies en route to a 5-under 66. His lone bogey of the day came at the par-3 eighth hole.
Last year’s T33 finish marked Gomez’ first start in the Deutsche Bank Championship.
So far this season on the PGA TOUR, Gomez has collected three top-10 finishes in 24 starts, highlighted by his second career win on TOUR at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He also finished T6 at the Tournament of Champions and T9 at the Wells Fargo Championship. As such, he comes into the week ranked 48th in the FedExCup standings.
Gomez finished T39 in his first start in the BMW Championship last season. He is angling this week for his first start in the TOUR Championship.
Gomez first won the 2015 FedEx St. Jude Classic.
Gomez recently represented his native Argentina in the Olympic Men’s Golf, where he finished T15.
Paul Casey
Advancing to the Deutsche Bank Championship for just the fourth time, England’s Paul Casey made eight birdies and three bogeys in round one to post a 5-under 66.
Casey was forced to withdraw from last year’s Deutsche Bank Championship after his second round with a back injury.
With seven birdies and two bogeys, Casey made just two pars over the course of his last 11 holes.
On the strength of four top-10 finishes, Casey comes into the week at No. 59 in the FedExCup standings. He has advanced to the BMW Championship three times; 2015/T23, 2010/2nd and 2009/DNS. In his only TOUR Championship start, he finished T4 in 2010.
Casey remains in search of his second career win on the PGA TOUR in his 194th start this week. He is the winner of the 2009 Shell Houston Open.
Casey was solid off the tee, finding 12 of 14 fairways in regulation. He hit 13 of 18 greens and needed 26 putts to complete his round.
Brian Stuard
Coming into the week ranked No. 66 in the FedExCup standings, Brian Stuard made seven birdies against just two bogeys to open with a 5-under 66 in his third start in the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Stuard previously finished T67 and T16 in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Stuard missed just one of TPC Boston’s 14 fairways in regulation and hit 12 of 18 greens.
Stuard’s 66 marks his lowest opening-round score since an 8-under 64 at this year’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he claimed his first career PGA TOUR title in a weather-shortened 54 holes.
Jason Day
After an even-par outgoing nine on Nos. 10-18, World No. 1 Jason Day played Nos. 1 and 2 in three-under par (birdie-eagle). He finished with a 1-under 70. In nine starts at the Deutsche Bank Championship now, the first round remains the only of the four in which he has never posted an over-par score.
In eight previous starts, Day has collected three top-10 finishes at TPC Boston; 2010/T2, 2011/T3 and 2014/T7.
Day is coming off top-5 finishes in his last two starts; 2nd/PGA Championship, T4/The Barclays. He has finished inside the top 10 in nine of his last 13 starts on the PGA TOUR this season.
Day is making his 29th start in the FedExCup Playoffs this week, where he has collected 12 top-10 finishes, nine of which have been inside the top five.
Upon completion of his round, Day learned that his wife and children were involved in an auto accident. When he learned of everyone’s safety, Day issued the following statement: “After the completion of my round today, I was informed my wife Ellie, our children Dash and Lucy, and friend Katie were involved in a traffic incident near our RV. Their car was hit by a bus and Ellie was taken to the hospital for precautionary measures. Thankfully, everyone is now resting comfortably and Ellie has been released. They will all be monitored in the coming days.
We want to thank the emergency services and hospital personnel for their assistance.” – Jason Day
Additional Player Notes
Defending Deutsche Bank Championship winner Rickie Fowler opened with a 2-under 69 in his seventh-consecutive start in the event. Last year’s victory marked his first top-10 finish at TPC Boston.
Last week’s The Barclays winner and FedExCup points’ leader Patrick Reed opened with a 3-under 68 in his fourth start in the Deutsche Bank Championship. Reed finished T4 at TPC Boston last year, with scores of 72-67-67-70—276 (-8).
Rory McIlroy opened with an even-par 71 is his bid to claim his 12th PGA TOUR title and first since the 2015 Wells Fargo Championship. He is making his fifth start at TPC Boston (T37/2010, 1st/2012, T47/2013, T5/2014).
Jordan Spieth opened with a 3-under 68 in his fourth start at the Deutsche Bank Championship. He is coming off a missed cut at TPC Boston in 2015, but finished T4 in his first start of 2013.
Phil Mickelson hit a rough patch on his outward nine, playing the three-hole stretch of Nos. 5-7 in 6-over-par. He bogeyed No. 5, took a quadruple-bogey-eight on No. 6 and made another bogey at the par-4 seventh hole. When all was said and done, Mickelson walked away from his opening round with a 4-over 75. In 36 rounds at TPC Boston, he has posted a higher score just once (76/R4/2010).
On the heels of his T2 finish at last week’s The Barclays, PGA TOUR rookie Emiliano Grillo followed a penalty drop on his last hole of the day, No. 18, with a holed wedge shot from 81 yards to make birdie and post a 4-under 67. The runner-up finish at Bethpage elevated the Argentine to No. 6 in the FedExCup standings.
Daniel Berger was the only rookie to advance to the TOUR Championship last season, finishing 11th on the FedExCup standings to earn the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year honor. No rookies advanced to Atlanta in 2013-14. Last year, nine rookies qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs. Rookies who advanced this year include:
| Player | Before Barclays | Before DBC |
| Smylie Kaufman |
26th |
34th |
| Emiliano Grillo |
32nd |
6th |
| Patton Kizzire |
58th |
72nd |
| Harold Varner III |
82nd |
87th |
| Brett Stegmaier |
101st |
Eliminated |
| Michael Kim |
115th |
Eliminated |
Rookies to qualify for the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola since the inception of the FedExCup in 2007:
| Year | Player | Finish |
| 2015 | Daniel Berger | 11th |
| 2013 | Jordan Spieth | 7th |
| 2012 | John Huh | 29th |
| 2011 | Keegan Bradley | 20th |
| 2009 | Marc Leishman | 20th |
| 2008 | Andres Romero | 28th |
| 2007 | Brandt Snedeker | 20th |
FedExCup Implications
Players on FedExCup Bubbles
Rank Player
30 Daniel Berger 67
70 Chez Reavie 74
100 Chad Campbell 67
Players ranked between No. 71-100 this week need a good finish to move into the top 70 in the standings to move on to the BMW Championship. Here’s a list of players who are currently projected to move inside the top 70:
| Player | Current FEC | DBC R1 | Projected FEC |
| Billy Hurley III | 77 | T7 | 55 |
| Jim Furyk | 84 | T7 | 61 |
| Marc Leishman | 71 | T20 | 65 |
| Steve Stricker | 97 | T7 | 66 |
| Vaughn Taylor | 79 | T20 | 67 |
| Chad Campbell | 100 | T7 | 68 |
Here’s the list of players who entered the week inside the top 70 but are now projected to fall outside the number to advance to the BMW Championship:
| Player | Current FEC | DBC R1 | Projected FEC |
| David lingmerth | 58 | T67 | 71 |
| Colt Knost | 65 | T48 | 72 |
| Jon Curran | 60 | T93 | 73 |
| Ricky Barnes | 68 | T48 | 74 |
| Martin Laird | 63 | T93 | 79 |
| Chez Reavie | 70 | T88 | 82 |
Five players entered The Barclays ranked No. 101 – 125 in the FedExCup standings and played their way into this week’s Deutsche Bank Championship. Here’s how they did during round one at TPC Boston:
| Player | Current FEC | DBC R1 | Projected FEC |
| Sean O’Hair |
15th |
71 |
22 |
| Sung Kang |
88th |
71 |
96 |
| John Huh |
90th |
71 |
97 |
| Tyrone Van Aswegen |
93rd |
74 |
99 |
| Derek Fathauer |
99th |
69 |
88 |
Miscellaneous Notes
Bogey-free rounds
R1: Jim Furyk (67), James Hahn (65), Billy Hurley III (67), Ryan Moore (65), Justin Rose (68), Jhonattan Vegas (66).
Scoring Averages at the par-71 TPC Boston:
Front 9 Back 9 Total Cumulative
R1: 33.165 34.505 69.670 —
The par-4 fifth hole played the toughest Friday, yielding a 4.186 average. The easiest was the par-5 18th at 4.536.
