Deutsche Bank Championship: golf betting guide

Our tipster analyses the field and comes up with some top tips ahead of the Deutsche Bank Championship at the TPC Boston, the second event of the PGA Tour's Fed-Ex Cup play-offs

Dustin Johnson

The second event of the PGA Tour's Fed-Ex Cup play-offs, the Deutsche Bank Championship, takes place this week at the TPC Boston, host of the tournament every year since its inauguration in 2003.

The course isn't overly long and generally yields a significant number of birdies and eagles. Indeed, the average winning score over the last five years is 18.4-under-par.

The ability to go low is always important at the TPC Boston, as demonstrated by Charlie Hoffman, who shot a Sunday 62 to win the tournament in 2010. Good putters and those that hit plenty of greens in regulation also hold an advantage.

Last season, Webb Simpson beat Chez Reavie in a play-off, with a selection of top names, including Adam Scott, Hunter Mahan and Luke Donald finishing in the top ten.

The field is even stronger this year, and nine of the world's top ten will be in action when the tournament starts on Friday (it runs from Friday-Monday to coincide with the Labour Day holiday in America).

Dustin Johnson is understandably one of the favourites this week at 16/1 with Ladbrokes. He has an excellent play-off record and finished in a tie for third last week at The Barclays. Big hitters have a good record at the TPC Boston, and Johnson is 7th on the PGA Tour in Driving Distance. He will also know another showing like last week could be enough to earn him a much-coveted Ryder Cup wild card pick from Davis Love 3rd.

Brandt Snedeker, at 25/1 with Ladbrokes, is impossible to ignore. He finished in a tie for second last week at the Barclays, and hasn't finished outside the top five at the Deutsche Bank Championship since 2009. He is first on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained - Putting and sixth in Birdie Average.

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Jason Day, at 40/1 with Ladbrokes, is a must this week. He loves the TPC Boston, finishing in a tie for third last year and a tie for second in 2010. He moved into the top 100 in the Fed-Ex Cup standings with a brilliant 66 at The Barclays to secure his place in the field this week, and the steely competitor - currently 88th - knows he needs a strong showing to breach the top 70 and qualify for the BMW next week.

Charl Schwartzel, at 50/1 with Ladbrokes, is another who needs a good tournament to qualify for next week. The South African has recorded top 25 finishes at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, the Wyndham Championship and last week at the Barclays - where he led the field in Strokes Gained - Putting. His Proximity to the Hole statistics are also encouraging, especially alongside a hot putter.

Aaron Baddeley, at 150/1 with Ladbrokes, is worth an each way bet. He missed the cut last week, but returns to a course where he has two top-10 finishes in eight starts. He is third in Strokes Gained - Putting and will have a lot of support this week, with many family members living in the Boston area.

Deutsche Bank Championship advised bets:

2pts on Dustin Johnson at 16/1 with Ladbrokes 2pts on Brandt Snedeker at 25/1 with Ladbrokes 2pts on Jason Day at 40/1 with Ladbrokes 2pts on Charl Schwartzel at 50/1 with Ladbrokes 2pts each way on Aaron Baddeley at 150/1 with Ladbrokes

Nick Bonfield
Features Editor

Nick Bonfield joined Golf Monthly in 2012 after graduating from Exeter University and earning an NCTJ-accredited journalism diploma from News Associates in Wimbledon. He is responsible for managing production of the magazine, sub-editing, writing, commissioning and coordinating all features across print and online. Most of his online work is opinion-based and typically centres around the Majors and significant events in the global golfing calendar. Nick has been an avid golf fan since the age of ten and became obsessed with the professional game after watching Mike Weir and Shaun Micheel win The Masters and PGA Championship respectively in 2003. In his time with Golf Monthly, he's interviewed the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Billy Horschel and has ghost-written columns for Westwood, Wayne Riley, Matthew Southgate, Chris Wood and Eddie Pepperell. Nick is a 12-handicap golfer and his favourite courses include Old Head, Sunningdale New, Penha Longha, Valderrama and Bearwood Lakes. If you have a feature pitch for Nick, please email nick.bonfield@futurenet.com with 'Pitch' in the subject line. Nick is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade M1 Fairway wood: TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Hybrid: Ping Crossover Irons (4-9): Nike Vapor Speed Wedges: Cleveland CBX Full Face, 56˚, Titleist Vokey SM4, 60˚ Putter: testing in progress! Ball: TaylorMade TP5x