NORTON - Hoping to see Ernie Els play at the TPC Boston?

Forget it.

Els, owner of three major titles, informed Deutsche Bank Championship organizers Tuesday morning that he was withdrawing from this week's $7 million PGA Tour event, the second leg of the tour's new four-week playoffs. Els issued a statement, citing family reasons for his withdrawal.

The fourth-ranked South African is returning to his home near London where his children will be preparing for their return to school, he said.

"I have been on the road now for almost eight weeks and it is important that I return home where my children will be preparing for their return to school," Els said. "I regret having to miss such a prestigious and important tournament and I wish everybody there an enjoyable and successful week." Els plans to return next week for the third event of the FedEx Cup in suburban Chicago and will play in the PGA Tour Championship in Atlanta the following week.

Els' withdrawal is a big blow to the Deutsche Bank Championship, which had been heavily promoting his first visit to New England, and the PGA Tour, which had hopes that all its big stars would play each week of the four-week playoffs. However, golf's biggest star, Tiger Woods, skipped the first week of the playoffs, and now Els is bypassing Norton.

In addition, three other golfers scheduled to tee it up this week will not be traveling to TPC Boston.

Scott Verplank, ranked 15th in the FedEx Cup standings, withdraw, citing exhaustion.

Bernhard Langer, a former Masters champ and ranked 59th for the FedEx Cup, said he had a previous commitment at a Champions Tour event.

Another former Masters champ, Jose Maria Olazabal, also withdrew. No reason was given. He is ranked 98th in the FedEx Cup standings, and is unlikely to advance to next week's tourney, when only the top 70 will qualify.

Terrific trio

So you want to go to the TPC Boston and see Tiger, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh play? Easy. Show up at the first tee by 1:07 p.m. on Friday.

Those three have been paired for the first two rounds of the Deutsche Bank Championship in what appears to be an obvious attempt to help TV ratings. That threesome will be one of the last groups finishing up on Friday when The Golf Channel will be covering the tournament.

The three will also be paired on Saturday, with an 8:22 a.m. start at the 10th hole. The pairing, believed to be the first for the three, is interesting because Woods has had strained relationships in the past with Mickelson and Singh, his two closest pursuers as the world's top-ranked golfer. Mickelson and Woods appear to have patched up differences after playing together for Ryder Cup and President Cup teams, but Singh and Tiger barely spoke during final-day pairings in two previous Deutsche Bank Championships.

Other key pairings:

**Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson and Adam Scott - 8:11 a.m., Friday, 10th tee; 12:56 p.m. Saturday, first tee.

** Steve Stricker, K.J. Choi and Rory Sabbatini (three FedEx Cup leaders) - 8:22 a.m. Friday, first tee; 1:07 p.m. Saturday, 10th tee.

The winner: charity

The Stop & Shop Family Foundation Golf Classic, a charity kickoff event for the Deutsche Bank Championship, raised $1.2 million to benefit local educational and recreational programs for children.

The event, now in its fourth year, was played Monday at TPC Boston and three other courses: Black Rock Country Club in Hingham, Woodland Golf Club in Auburndale, and Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, R.I. It featured 425 golfers and raised more money for charitable giving than it had in each of the three previous years.

"We are thrilled to have put on yet another successful charity golf tournament and to be able to say that we have surpassed last year's mark by raising $1.2 million," said José Alvarez, president and CEO of Stop & Shop Supermarkets and Giant Food, in a statement. "Throughout the years, we have been able to give to some very worthy organizations in the cities and towns served by Stop & Shop and Giant Food, and we couldn't have done it without the support of our vendor partners."

The event featured a handful of PGA Tour and LPGA players, including Brad Faxon, J.J. Henry, Brett Quigley, Jason Gore, Andy North, Jeff Gove, George McNeill, Angela German and Vicki Goetze-Ackerman.

Among the charities benefiting from the tournament is the Hockomock Area YMCA, based in North Attleboro, with branches in Mansfield, Foxboro and Franklin.

Stricker to the top

After the first week of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, Steve Stricker is atop the standings. He holds a 2,050-point lead over K.J. Choi, who he defeated by two strokes at The Barclays, the first of four Playoff events. Stricker began the week in 12th place before vaulting up the standings.

"I'm in a great position now. There's still a long way to go, and we all know who is coming back next week," Stricker said to pgatour.com, referring to Regular Season No. 1 Tiger Woods, who didn't play in The Barclays. "I've just got to keep focused and keep doing what I'm doing and hopefully get myself some more opportunities in the next three (events)."

Rory Sabbatini, who finished third at The Barclays, is in third place in the standings, followed by Woods and Phil Mickelson. Twenty-four players were eliminated following The Barclays, with 120 players eligible for this week's second Playoff event, the DBC.

Stricker, Choi and Sabbatani will also be paired together for the first two rounds of the DBC. The trio will begin their rounds on Friday at the 10th tee at 8:22 a.m. and will hit from the 10th tee on Saturday, beginning at 1:07 p.m.

Early risers

If you are heading to the Deutsche Bank Championship Pro-Am on Thursday and you want to see some of the biggest names in this week's tournament, get there early.

Going off from the first tee in the morning will be Woods (7 a.m.), Leonard (7:20 a.m.), Garcia (7:30 a.m.), Furyk (8 a.m.), Harrington (8:30 a.m.), Stricker (8:40 a.m.) and Singh (9 a.m.).

Starting from the 10th tee in the morning will be Scott (7:10 a.m.), Cabrera (7:20 a.m.), Mickelson (8 a.m.), Justin Rose (8:30 a.m.) and Johnson (8:50 a.m.).

A couple of ringers

Woods and Seth Waugh, CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas, rang The Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday morning to kick-off the Deutsche Bank Championship.

"Wall Street is Deutsche Bank's home in the Americas and the NYSE is the symbolic center of the world's financial markets, so this is the perfect place for us to kick things off each year," said Waugh "We're also thrilled to be part of a new tradition, the PGA TOUR Playoffs, which will bring a whole new level of intensity to the Deutsche Bank Championship."

Staff writer Kevin LaBounty contributed to this article