TPC Boston in Norton, Mass., is one of the least fan-friendly golf courses in the world as spectators can't walk on both sides of any of the 18 holes.
But PGA Tour officials have made it about as easy as possible for Connecticut fans to watch the two players with state ties compete in the first two rounds of the second FedEx Cup playoff event, the Deutsche Bank Championship.
University of Hartford grad Tim Petrovic and Fairfield native J.J. Henry will play in successive threesomes the first 36 holes. The only easier way to watch them is if they were paired together.
Petrovic, ranked 58th in the FedEx Cup points standings, will play with No. 59 Charley Hoffman and No. 60 David Toms in the group that tees off on the first tee at 8:12 a.m. Friday and 12:42 p.m. on the 10th tee Saturday.
No. 82 Henry plays with close friend and No. 83 Chad Campbell and No. 84 Paul Goydos at 8:24 p.m. Friday and 12:54 p.m. Saturday, the latest starting time the second day.
Matt Kuchar, who birdied the first playoff hole to beat Martin Laird in The Barclays on Sunday, will start Friday at 8 a.m. on the 10th tee and Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on the first tee with No. 2 Steve Stricker and No. 3 Laird.
No. 9 Bubba Watson, who won his first PGA Tour title in the Travelers Championship in June, starts Friday at 7:48 on the 10th tee and Saturday at 12:18 p.m. on the first tee with No. 7 Hunter Mahan, winner of the 2006 Travelers Championship, and Jim Furyk, who fell from third to eighth on the points list after being disqualified from The Barclays for missing his starting time in the pro-am after his cell phone alarm didn't go off because the battery died.
Phil Mickelson, who missed the cut in The Barclays to slip to 10th in the FedEx Cup points list, tees off Friday at 12:16 p.m. on the first tee and Saturday at 7:48 a.m. on the 10th tee with No. 11 Ben Crane and No. 12 Jeff Overton.
Tiger Woods, who tied for 12th in the Barclays to move from 112th to 65th in the standings, starts Friday at 11:42 a.m. on the 10th tee and Saturday at 7:12 a.m. on the first tee with No. 64 John Senden and No. 66 Michael Sim.
Tee times for the first two rounds have been moved up 40 minutes because of concerns about Hurricane Earl. The first two threesomes in the 100-man field will start at 7 a.m., and course superintendent Tom Brodeur has assembled a group of volunteers to clear limbs and other debris from TPC Boston, if necessary.
But it will depend on what Mother Nature decides to do. Hurricane Earl, packing winds of 125 mph, is headed up the East Coast and likely will impact the Massachusetts coast sometime on Friday, though no one is sure when or how severe it will be.
"We'll know a lot more (Thursday)," Mark Russell, vice president of rules and competitions for the PGA Tour, told reporters Wednesday.
The good news is Earl is a fast-moving storm. If it arrives Friday afternoon, the skies should be clear by Saturday morning and temperatures will drop into the low to mid-70s. There also would still be the potential to get some play in before the heaviest rain and strongest winds, with three good days remaining to finish on schedule.
But if Earl should speed up and reach Massachusetts on Friday morning, anything is possible. And a more westerly path would mean a more significant impact inland in terms of rain and gale force winds.
"If it's further east, then obviously we get lesser amounts here and it's a lot better," on-site meteorologist Stewart Williams said. "But if it keeps trending a little west, then we get into ... a stronger core of winds and even more rain, so then we've got a bigger problem."
Tournament officials have already met several times to discuss contingency plans. The safety of the spectators and players will obviously be a prime consideration.
When Williams gets the latest models on Thursday, there will be more discussions about when and whether play can reasonably be expected to begin on schedule Friday.
"Hopefully Earl will slide more to the east, but there's nothing we can do about it either way," Russell said.
Russell said it's rare the PGA Tour deals with a hurricane. He remembers one that came ashore during a tournament at Kingsmill, Va., but after it blew through and the course was cleaned up, play was able to resume on two tees.
Heavy winds have also impacted The Honda Classic and Farmers Insurance Open, blowing down tents and signage.
"We've had close calls before, but (Kingsmill) is the only one I can remember that caused us any problems," Russell said.
But for now, it's a waiting game.
"There's nothing we can do," Russell said. "We've got 100 players. We'll just see what happens."
The low 70 in the FedEx Cup standings after the final round Monday advance to the third round of the playoffs, the BMW Championships at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in suburban Chicago. The top 30 after the BMW Championships qualify for the playoff finale, The Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
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