Tuesday 4 September 2018 00:50, UK
Bryson DeChambeau consolidated his claim for a Ryder Cup place as he made it back-to-back FedExCup Play-Off victories at the Dell Technologies Championship.
Just a week after dominating The Northern Trust, DeChambeau powered clear of a congested leaderboard on the final day in Boston with three consecutive birdies to cap an outward 32, and a composed back nine earned him a two-shot win over Justin Rose.
DeChambeau started the day one behind 54-hole leader Abraham Ancer following a superb third-round 63 while playing alongside Tiger Woods, but he soon found himself ahead of the Mexican as he birdied the second and fourth either side of a blemish at the third.
Hideki Matsuyama and European Ryder Cup hopeful Rafa Cabrera Bello suddenly burst into contention with a barrage of birdies up ahead while Rory McIlroy also got to within a shot of the lead, but DeChambeau put daylight between himself and his rival when he birdied seven, eight and nine to get to 16 under.
The young American's four-stroke advantage was halved when he three-putted the 13th green from 50 feet, and Rose emerged as his biggest threat when the Englishman recovered from an erratic front nine with four birdies over the last six holes to post a 68 and claim the clubhouse lead on 14 under.
But DeChambeau responded with a nerveless birdie putt from eight feet at the 15th, and three cast-iron pars completed an impressive 67 and clinched his third victory of a superb season which should guarantee he will be among the first three Team USA wildcard picks announced by captain Jim Furyk on Tuesday evening.
Rose was two off the pace overnight and got off to the worst possible start when he bogeyed the opening two holes, although he bounced back immediately when he converted two excellent approaches for birdie at the third and fourth.
However, another birdie at seven was sandwiched between two further dropped shots and he remained one over for the day until he almost holed his second to the 13th and left himself a tap-in for a three.
A rejuvenated Rose then holed from five feet at the 15th and enjoyed a birdie-birdie finish to a 68 which would prove enough to claim outright second ahead of Australian Cameron Smith, whose ambitious second to the par-five 18th came up short and found the hazard.
Smith's mistake led to a bogey and took the gloss off a 69 which left him three adrift of DeChambeau but one ahead of Matsuyama (65), CT Pan (66), and another American Ryder Cup wildcard contender Tony Finau, who birdied the last for a 68.
Dustin Johnson will spend another week as world No 1 following a superb nine-birdie 64 which lifted him into a tie for seventh on 11 under, with Brooks Koepka unable to dethrone his close friend at the top of the world rankings after he settled for a bogey-free 68 - 10 under for the tournament.
Cabrera Bello's hopes of locking down one of Thomas Bjorn's four captain's picks for the Ryder Cup looked good when he reeled off four straight birdies around the turn to get into a share of the lead, but he could not maintain his challenge for a maiden PGA Tour win as he dropped shots at 13, 15 and the last to return a disappointing 68.
The Spaniard shared seventh with Johnson, Bubba Watson and Ancer, who struggled to a 73 in the final pairing with DeChambeau, while Tyrrell Hatton made only one birdie against three bogeys and slipped to 10 under alongside McIlroy.
The two-time champion at TPC Boston was one off the lead after three birdies in a blemish-free 33 on the outward half, but McIlroy faltered down the stretch and bogeyed 14 and 15 to take himself out of the running.
