Deutsche Bank Championship 2012: Top Golfers Who Need a Win Most This Weekend

The top PGA golfers in the world descend upon the TPC Boston this week for the second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

After a three-shot victory at last week's Barclays, Nick Watney now sits with nearly a 600-point advantage over second-place Brandt Snedeker.

Looking to knock Watney off his perch atop the standings is a cavalcade of top pros, including world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. All three came away from last week's Barclays tournament disappointed in their performance and should come out motivated this week.

Nevertheless, the biggest stars are not the only ones teeing off Friday. And while a solid finish would go a long way to chipping at Watney's lead, there are a few golfers who need to come away victorious more than others this weekend.

Who are those guys? Here's a look at some elite golfers who need a big win at the Deutsche Bank Championship. 

Tiger Woods

Coming into the PGA's playoff season, Woods was sitting in the pole position and looking to what he's always done best: play the front-runner.

However, after putting up solid scores in the Barclays' first two rounds, Woods continued his recent trend of fading down the stretch in key tournaments. The former world's best golfer went six-over for the weekend, including an atrocious score of 75 in the final round.

Tiger now sits in third place in FedEx Cup standings behind Snedeker and last week's winner Watney. While certainly not insurmountable, Woods will need to play well throughout the rest of the playoffs to become golf's first three-time Cup champion.

With Woods sitting as a 10-1 favorite (via Bovada.lv), a repeat of his 2006 performance at the Deutsche should put the 36-year-old star comfortably back in the driver's seat.

Jason Dufner

After a tie for seventh at the Wyndham Championship put him in second place coming into the FedEx Cup playoffs, Dufner made a relatively shocking decision to sit out last week's Barclays tournament.

With most of the golf world's top players in attendance, it seemed likely that the 35-year-old would descend pretty far down the rankings. Though that didn't happen—Dufner sits at sixth heading into this week's Deutsche Bank Championship—he's going to need a strong performance this weekend to justify sitting out a vital tournament.

If Dufner can come out strong and recapture the momentum he had before last week, his decision will go unquestioned. If not, golf analysts across the nation will wonder why Dufner squandered a shot at FedEx glory.

Adam Scott

Like Woods, Scott wasted a solid early-week performance by fading down the stretch at the Barclays.

The world's ninth-ranked golfer, Scott comes into the TPC Boston at No. 35 in FedEx Cup standings. That means if play ended today, the Australian star would be ineligible to compete in the Super Bowl of golf's playoff system, the Tour Championship.

Despite his inconsistencies, Scott's first win on the PGA tour came at the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2003 and the 32-year-old comes in as one of the favorites to win this week. Should Scott take home his second crown at the Norton, Mass. course, he can breathe easy knowing he'll make the final tournament.

If not, the Aussie will head into the BMW Championship next week with a ton of added pressure.