Steve Stricker birdied the final two holes to pass Jason Dufner and win the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston by one shot. The win puts Stricker on top of the FedEx Cup points standings, 909 points ahead of Tiger Woods, who finished tied for 11th after a final round 63.
Stricker, who started the day tied with Sean O’Hair and Retief Goosen for the lead, got off to a solid start with three birdies and a bogey on the front nine. Dufner, who started the day in ninth place, made up ground quickly with four straight birdies from the second to fifth holes. Dufner finished the front with birdies on the seventh and ninth holes, making bogey on the eighth. Dufner capped his round of 65 off with a birdie on the 18th after making eight straight pars.
Scott Verplank made a late charge with birdies on the final four holes to tie Dufner at 16-under par. Padraig Harrington nearly joined Verplank and Dufner but his eagle attempt on the final hole slid by the cup. As Stricker was making pars from the eighth hole, he found himself one shot back with two to play. He made a birdie on the 17th hole from about 15 feet and, after his second shot went over the par-5, 18th green, Stricker just had to get up and down for his third win of the 2009 season. Stricker put his chip to within three feet and made the putt for birdie.
Angel Cabrera, Dustin Johnson and Harrington tied for fourth place. Geoff Ogilvy moved up to seventh place with a final round 66. O’Hair, Goosen and Jim Furyk tied for eighth place at 13-under par.
Stricker wins Deutsche Bank Championship, leads FedEx Cup race
Stricker, who started the day tied with Sean O’Hair and Retief Goosen for the lead, got off to a solid start with three birdies and a bogey on the front nine. Dufner, who started the day in ninth place, made up ground quickly with four straight birdies from the second to fifth holes. Dufner finished the front with birdies on the seventh and ninth holes, making bogey on the eighth. Dufner capped his round of 65 off with a birdie on the 18th after making eight straight pars.
Scott Verplank made a late charge with birdies on the final four holes to tie Dufner at 16-under par. Padraig Harrington nearly joined Verplank and Dufner but his eagle attempt on the final hole slid by the cup. As Stricker was making pars from the eighth hole, he found himself one shot back with two to play. He made a birdie on the 17th hole from about 15 feet and, after his second shot went over the par-5, 18th green, Stricker just had to get up and down for his third win of the 2009 season. Stricker put his chip to within three feet and made the putt for birdie.
Angel Cabrera, Dustin Johnson and Harrington tied for fourth place. Geoff Ogilvy moved up to seventh place with a final round 66. O’Hair, Goosen and Jim Furyk tied for eighth place at 13-under par.