Deutsche Bank Championship 2012: Top 5 FedEx Point Leaders In Action

As the second stage of the 2012 FedEx Cup Playoffs is set to tee off on Thursday, the top 100-ranked players will take on the TPC Boston at this season’s Deutsche Bank Championship. With 2,500 first-place FedEx points at stake, this postseason is still up-for-grabs.

Last week’s winner Nick Watney currently holds the FedEx lead with 3,225.87 points overall, and a 600-point lead over Brandt Snedeker (2,694.45). Tiger Woods (2,416.74) is in third position and more than 800 points behind Watney. All three players are slated to return to action this week in Boston, although there is some chatter that Woods may forego the event to rest his aching back. Woods is likely guaranteed to play in the third stage of the postseason -- the BMW Championship -- even if he chooses to stay home this week. Woods has one win in his career at the TPC Boston in 2006.

Rory McIlory (2,299) is still very much in contention in fourth position and is looking to regain lost ground from last week, having dropped one spot in the rankings. The same can be said for Zach Johnson (2,166.45), who fell from fourth to fifth place following the Barclays.

Jason Dufner (2,110) skipped last week’s event to prepare for this week’s tournament and now finds himself in sixth despite finishing the 2012 PGA Tour season in second place. While still likely to qualify for the BMW Championship next week as well, Dufner will need to play well these next two weeks to earn his place in the Tour Championship two weeks from now at East Lake.

Depending on your math skills and the order in which the top-five players finish come Sunday, Watney may very well lose his points lead should one of his top-ranked peers claim victory. The TPC Boston will certainly prove to be a bomber’s paradise this week, measuring in at over 7,200 yards, which may prove to be daunting for shorter hitters like Johnson.