Golf's 20-Somethings Take Aim at Elite for FedEx Cup

And with a little luck -- an eastward turn out to sea by the remnants of Hurricane Earl would be a good start -- a story line with some sizzle could provide the jolt the Deutsche Bank Championship needs to enliven the late season.

One possible plot: starting Friday in golf's version of "Survivor" meets high-stakes Texas Hold 'em, a large group of emerging young stars takes on the game's establishment in the second of four playoff events, each with a purse of $7.5 million.

Seven first-time winners are in the field of 99 this week at the T.P.C. Boston. Some are among the 25 golfers still in their 20s, who could further validate their achievements by taking down their elders, led by a resurgent Tiger Woods.

Could one of the youngsters survive the brutal attrition as the playoff field shrinks to 70 after this week, dwindles to 30 after next week's BMW Championship and comes down to one player two weeks after that at the Tour Championship? The last man standing will win the $10 million bonus that goes with the FedEx Cup title.

That is not a stretch. With Woods's off-course travails dominating the headlines for most of the season, the attack of the 20-somethings emerged as the No. 2 theme. By the end of the Barclays last weekend, 12 players under the age of 30 had won 14 tour events, and the group has some star quality.

While Woods was away and then returning from his self-imposed layoff of more than four months, players like Rory McIlroy, 21; Dustin Johnson, 26; Jason Day, 22; and Anthony Kim, 25, were racking up wins in the United States. Ryo Ishikawa, 18, was shooting a 58 and winning in Japan.

Ishikawa is not here, but McIlroy is. McIlroy, a native of Northern Ireland who established his bona fides with a closing 62 to win the Quail Hollow Championship, also threw down some rare (for golf) bulletin-board material to spice things up.

Two weeks ago in an interview with the BBC, McIlroy said he would "love to face" the struggling Woods in the Ryder Cup in October and, furthermore, so would the rest of the European team.

Unless Woods's game "rapidly improves in the next month or so," McIlroy said, "I think anyone in the European team would fancy his chances against him."

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