Tiger Woods’ absence will be felt at the Deutsche Bank.

Associated Press

New England golf fans are about to learn what life is like on the PGA Tour without Tiger on the prowl.

Clearly, it is not the same. For sure, the excitement level and the anticipation are diminished.

The people who run the Deutsche Bank Championship know very well what Tiger Woods means. When they organized the tournament at the TPC of Boston in Norton, Mass., six years ago, they made the Tiger Woods Foundation the beneficiary of the event.

That has insured having Woods take part every year and the results have been smashing. More than $10 million has been raised for charity and the on-course shows have been outstanding, with Woods usually in the middle of the excitement.

This year it changes. Tournament officials had their annual lets-get-the-show-on-the-road news conference and they did everything they could to build interest.

They brought in the two best young American players on tour, Anthony Kim and Brandt Snedeker, to talk about the tournament. They spoke about how changes in the format for the FedEx Cup virtually make certain that the best players, led by defending champion Phil Mickelson, will be in Norton on Labor Day weekend.

They spoke about how the course, after five years of almost continual change, has received approval from the players so that a few small “refinements” have been made for this year. They spoke about how, even in these difficult economic times, more sponsors have come on board.

In short, everything looks rosy. With one exception, that is.

As with every other event on tour since the U.S. Open, the Deutsche Bank will go Tigerless this year. And that, of course, changes everything.

It’s simply not the same without Woods. Not that Kim and Snedeker are upset.

“Obviously, now that Tiger is not playing that much, it gives us a little bit more of a chance this year, and I think everybody is trying to seize that opportunity,” Kim said. “For guys like Brandt and myself, it’s a great opportunity to make a name for ourselves and definitely put our name, stamp our name, in the golf world.”

“It’s very exciting because it gives everybody a chance starting at square one here in two weeks, three weeks,” Snedeker said of the playoff system with the $10 million first-place prize. “Everybody pretty much goes back to the drawing board and whoever gets hot at the right time and can string three or four weeks together can end up walking away with that championship.

“Without Tiger, we actually have a chance now, so it’s kind of nice,” Snedeker said. “I hate to say it, but it’s kind of nice not to have him here beating up on us every week. He’ll be back next year. But right now we have a chance at least to kind of take advantage of this time and really try to improve our games.”

Course on par

After five years of renovating the TPC course for the Deutsche Bank, the players this year will see minor tweaks, Brad Williams, the director of golf and general manager at the club reported.

In several areas, islands have been put in bunkers, not so much to affect play as to give players targets to guide them around the 7,207-yad, par-71 layout.

Sponsors continue to be added, the new ones including MasterCard as a Founders Partner. More activities for children will be offered, but the main goal now is simply to stay on the road that has been established.

Discussions are being held, said Seth Waugh, the tournament chairman, to somehow get Woods involved even if Woods will not be able to play.

Off to the movies

Another New England golf course is going out of business, this one for a different reason. Waverly Oaks, in Plymouth, Mass., has been sold to make way for a movie studio.

The public course designed by Brian Silva opened to positive reviews in 1998. But it was announced earlier this month that it will close permanently, probably at the end of next summer. The 240-acre property has been sold to Plymouth Rock Studios.

That company plans to build a $300-million production studio for films and television. The plans call for 14 sound stages, back lots, a hotel and office buildings to be built on the property. The move was helped along by tax credits given by the Massachusetts legislature.

Chip shots

Gary McLane of Rhode Island Country Club, with a 36, and Kibbe Reilly of Agawam Hunt, with a 37, won the men’s and women’s divisions of the tournament of champions at Lincoln. Rain forced reduction of the event to nine holes. The event, formerly run by The Providence Journal and later the R.I. Golf Association, was run by the Ocean State Women’s Golf Association. … URI golfer Mark Stevens is the New Hampshire State Amateur champion for this year.

pkenyon@projo.com