Week 35 Approach Shots: Deutsche Bank Champ.

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With 25 players eliminated from the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, a field of 100 will be competing this week at the second Playoff event, the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston. A year ago, Vijay Singh won the event by five strokes over Mike Weir. He returns to defend his 2008 title, ranked 78th in the Playoff standings. The top-70 players will advance to next week's third Playoff event, the BMW Championship. Singh has enjoyed unprecedented success at TPC Boston. Besides his 2008 victory, Singh also won the tournament in 2004 to become the event's only two-time winner. He was second in 2006.

Quick Facts

WHAT: Second of four Playoffs events WHEN: Sept. 4-7 WHERE: Norton, Mass. COURSE: TPC Boston ROUND 1 TV: GOLF, 3-8:30 p.m. ET ROUND 2 TV: GOLF, 3-8:30 p.m. ET ROUND 3 TV: NBC, 3-6 p.m. ET ROUND 4 TV: NBC, 2-6 p.m. ET FEDEXCUP POINTS: 2,500 for winner KEY LINKS: Tee times | Leaderboard | Tournament page VIDEO: Opening Shot

Singh posted a final-round, 8-under 63 last year to reach 22-under 262, which is the tournament's 72-hole record. Singh (2006) and Weir (2008) share the TPC Boston 18-hole record of 10-under 61.

HAPPY 400TH, PHIL: Phil Mickelson will be making his 400th career PGA TOUR start when he tees it up at this week's Deutsche Bank Championship. In his two previous starts, he won in 2007 and tied for 73rd a year ago.

HORSE FOR THE COURSE: Steve Stricker has found his groove at TPC Boston. After missing his first three cuts from 2003 to 2005, he has since reeled off ties for seventh (2006), ninth (2007) and 13th (2008), respectively, at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

ONE EYE ON THE REAR VIEW: While the first three playings of the Deutsche Bank Championship saw the 54-hole leader go on to victory, the last three champions have come from off the pace. A year ago, Singh added his name to the tournament's list of come-from-behind winners, which includes Tiger Woods (2006) and Mickelson (2007).

BACK FOR MORE: This year marks the sixth time Woods has played the Deutsche Bank Championship and first since 2007. He has one win (2006), two runner-up showings (2004 and 2007) and a tie for seventh (2003). The only time he hasn't finished inside the top 10 was in 2005, when he tied for 40th. Woods' lowest 18-hole score at TPC Boston is the final-round 63 he shot in 2006.

SINGH'S BOSTON FLING: While 18 players entered the final round with a chance to record all four rounds in the 60s at the 2008 Deutsche Bank Championship, only Singh (64-66-69-63) pulled off the feat. TPC Boston has been kind to Singh. He has four top-four finishes in five career starts at the Deutsche Bank Championship and is a collective 65-under in five starts.

RUNAWAY WINNERS: There has never been a playoff at the Deutsche Bank Championship, and only once has the winning margin been one stroke. That happened in 2005 when Olin Browne edged Jason Bohn. The other winning margins have been five strokes (2008), four strokes (2003), three strokes (2004) and two strokes (2006 and 2007).

INTERNATIONAL EVENT: A year ago, those who finished inside the top three were all international players. They were winner Singh (Fiji), runner-up Weir (Canada), as well as Ernie Els (South Africa) and Camilo Villegas (Colombia), who tied for third. All four of those players have already qualified for the International team at the 2009 Presidents Cup scheduled for Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco, Calif.

ON-COURSE OBSERVATIONS: PGA TOUR Network correspondent Larry Rinker is on the scene at TPC Boston for this week's satellite radio coverage (XM 146/SIRIUS 209). Reports Rinker:

The second week of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup moves us to just south of Boston in Norton, Mass., at the TPC Boston, which is a par 71 at 7,200 yards. We have five rookies remaining in the FedExCup race: Webb Simpson, Jeff Klauk, James Nitties, Marc Leishman and Scott Piercy. Simpson found himself in the final group last Saturday, and it was his first taste of being the the final group on the weekend in a TOUR event, much less a Playoffs event.

Tiger Woods is still in first place in FedExCup points, 1,200 points ahead of Steve Stricker, who is second. Heath Slocum is in third after his win at The Barclays. Other notables in the top 15 heading into the Deutsche Bank Championship are: Zach Johnson at No. 4, Kenny Perry at No. 5, Y.E. Yang at No. 6, Lucas Glover at No. 9 -- even though he missed the cut at The Barclays -- Phil Mickelson in 10th, Ernie Els at 11th and Padraig Harrington, who, with his tie for second last week, moved all the way to 14th.

It should be another exciting week as we will narrow the field from 100 players to 70, so 30 players will be eliminated by Sunday evening at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Weather forecast for Deutsche Bank Championship

FRIDAY, Rd. 1 SATURDAY, Rd. 2 SUNDAY, Rd. 3 MONDAY, Rd. 4 Partly cloudy Temp: 79 high/64 low Mostly cloudy Temp: 74 high/67 low Showers Temp: 72 high/67 low Scattered t-storms Temp: 78 high/66 low

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Deutsche Bank Championship snippets

Last-minute entrants: Four players played their way into this week's Deutsche Bank Championship thanks to their finish at last week's The Barclays: Richard S. Johnson, Troy Matteson, Fredrik Jacobson and Heath Slocum all came from outside the top 100 to qualify. Fields getting smaller: This week's Deutsche Bank Championship will be the last PGA TOUR Playoff event to have a 36-hole cut. The remaining two tournaments will have fields of only 70 and 30 players, so a cut will not be necessary. Next week's field: The top 33 players in this week's field are assured of reaching next week's BMW Championship. The remainder will be competing for the other 37 places in field in Chicago Where the money goes: In 2008, the tournament reached a personal milestone with $3.5 million donated to charity, moving its overall donations to more than $14 million since 2003. The event's impact is felt specifically by its primary charity -- the Tiger Woods Learning Center -- as well as the Stop & Shop Family Foundation and numerous other New England area charities.

In the spotlight

This week: Vijay Singh

Each week during the 2009 season, PGATOUR.COM will spotlight one key player in the field. For the Deutsche Bank Championship this week, it's Vijay Singh. Learn more about Vijay

A victory this week earns you ...

• Fully Exempt for the remainder of 2009 and all of 2010-11 • 2,500 FedExCup points. Anyone who wins will be a strong contender to be among the top five entering THE TOUR Championship. • Tiger Woods is the leader in the FedExCup standings. He can be caught only by Steve Stricker, Heath Slocum, Zach Johnson or Kenny Perry. • A spot in the following events in order of play: 2010 SBS Championship, 2010 Arnold Palmer Invitational, 2010 Masters, 2010 Verizon Heritage, 2010 PLAYERS Championship, 2010 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, 2010 Memorial Tournament, 2010 AT&T National, 2010 PGA Championship, 2010 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational • It is mathematically possible for anyone in the field to reach the top five with a win this week.