Hurricane Irene can’t stop Deutsche Bank

Associated Press

norton, mass.

Kevin Chappell felt a deep sense of appreciation when he arrived at the TPC Boston for the second FedEx Cup playoff event.

He is among 10 rookies on the PGA Tour who are still hopeful of getting to the Tour Championship for a shot at the $10 million prize. A tie for third at the U.S. Open assured him of his first trip to the Masters next year, and a return to the U.S. Open at The Olympic Club, a short drive from his hometown of Fresno, Calif.

Only his feelings had nothing to do with his playoff performance, or anything else about his game.

Hurricane Irene altered his travel plans, and he showed up at the Deutsche Bank Championship earlier than expected.

It gave Chappell a chance to see what a tournament looks like before the show starts — especially a tournament that had to prepare for a hurricane.

On Monday, there was no power on the golf course. Fortunately, the tournament doesn’t start until Friday, which helped.

Most of the 99 players in the field began showing up Wednesday for practice rounds.

The TPC Boston looked like it always does — immaculate landscape, grandstands and scoreboards in place, the refrigerators in the locker room humming with electricity, stocked with every kind of drink.