T.J.'s Take: A home game

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Aside from the major championships, my favorite event on the PGA TOUR schedule takes place this week -- the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston, the second leg of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

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The only problem I have with this tournament is the name of the course it's played on.

TPC Boston? Seriously?

The course is in Norton, Mass., which is almost exactly 40 minutes from Boston and about 20 minutes from Providence, R.I. OK, OK. TPC Norton doesn't have the same ring as TPC Boston, so I guess I'll let it go.

Anyway, the reason I love this tournament so much is because it's a home game. It's the only TOUR event I'm able to attend each year where I can sleep in my own bed, drive my own car and enjoy my mom's home cooking (I do that routinely when not on the road as it is).

Traveling to cover golf for a living is unbelievable. So don't take this as a "woe is me" column. It's not that at all.

It's just that my love of the game was fostered here in New England. I'm a native Rhode Islander and aside from being 8 years old and playing in a foursome at the local par-3 course with my dad, brother, and late great, great uncle, my earliest memories of the game came from attending the old New England Classic in Sutton, Mass., at Pleasant Valley Country Club (known as "PV" to the locals).

That tournament, which changed names many times over the years, was staged between 1970-1998. After that and until 2003, the lone TOUR event for New Englanders was the Travelers Championship just outside Hartford.

That's all well and good, but if you know anything about Rhode Island, we're the smallest state in the Union and our people don't travel well. For instance, you can drive from the northernmost portion to the southernmost portion of the state in 45 minutes, which, for most Rhode Islanders, ends up being an overnight trip.

That's what was so great about Sutton and now Norton -- you were into and out of your car before you knew it.

The first TOUR event I ever attended was at PV when Blaine McCallister won in 1989. I was 9 years old.

The most excited I had ever been at a TOUR event (until Tiger came along) was two years later at PV when Rhode Island's own Brad Faxon won. From 1991-1996, I worked the tournament as a standard bearer, carrying the sign with the players name and scores while walking the fairways with the world's best.

I remember being in Billy Andrade's group one year -- another Rhode Islander. My brother tagged along carrying the numbers for me to put on the standard-bearer sign and Billy was giving us stuff on every hole -- balls, tees, gloves.

Anyway, when we got to the ninth tee that day (we started on the back nine, so this was the final hole), Billy's old caddie, the late Boo Burrell, came over to my brother and I and said, "Boys, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to give me one of those golf balls back."

We were confused. Wasn't it a gift?

Turns out Billy and Boo had been so generous with the gift-giving to my brother and me that day that Billy didn't have any golf balls left to play the final hole.

We gladly handed over a ball... and made it a point to get back what was rightfully ours when the round ended.

It was a bitter pill to swallow when we lost the PV tournament. But, after a long five years, we got the Deutsche Bank Championship.

It's so fitting that this tournament is in the Playoff rotation. Not that I'm biased or anything, but who knows the playoffs like New Englanders these days? We have the Red Sox, the New England Patriots and the Boston Celtics, or, six championships collectively since 2002 as we like to say (let's just not talk about the Boston Bruins, please)!

Eat your heart out, New York!

New England is a special place, which is why it makes sense that the Deutsche Bank Championship boasts the only "scheduled" Monday-finish on the TOUR schedule. Makes it a little different from the rest.

The atmosphere at TPC Boston is incredible -- major-like, even.

The crowds at TPC Boston are sure to be a sea of Red Sox hats and funny accents.

Just like we love our teams, our lobsta and our chowda, we love our golf up here too.

It'll show this week.