Haas performs miracle shot en-route to FedEx Cup glory

Bill Haas produced a stunning Hail Mary shot at the second extra hole of a playoff with Hunter Mahan to save par, and the miracle shot propelled the 29-year old son of Jay Haas onto winning the high stakes Tour Championship.

And not only did Haas trouser $1.44million for his win, he also pocketed the $10million winner’s check as he became the FedEx Cup champion in the process.

Haas had to dig deep to fend off Ryder Cup player Mahan, after he let slip a three shot lead coming off the 15th hole with bogeys at the 16th and 18th holes to let Mahan tie him at 8-under par and force a playoff after Mahan saved par on the final hole.

Replaying the par-3 18th hole for the first time, the pressure of $10million seemed to weigh heavily on both players. Haas went well right off the tee, clattering into the stands while Mahan came up short and into the bunker before splashing to six feet. Haas meanwhile chipped to 10 feet and holed the par putt, and was promptly followed in by Mahan.

Heading to the 17th, Haas found the bunker down the right side of the fairway from the tee while Mahan found the fairway and shot to 15 feet. Haas’ second edged left and landed in the lake, potentially ending Haas’ challenge.

However, when he got to his ball, he found it only partially submerged and elected to play the shot. Playing the shot akin to a bunker shot, Haas’ ball pitched out of the water and spun close to the flag, stopping inside 3 feet. It was a body blow for Mahan and he missed his winning putt on the high side of the hole.

Returning to the 18th again, Haas went to the left of the green this time, while Mahan again found the sand. A poor sand recovery from Mahan saw him scuttle past the hole by some 15 feet, while Haas chipped inside 3 feet; Mahan missed the return leaving Haas to play out for par and lift the series.

A poor performance by top-ranked Webb Simpson, meant that anyone in the field – with the exception of Aaron Baddeley – would take top-spot with a win. Haas became the lowest ranked player to lift the FedEx Cup, having started the Tour Championship in 25th place and joins a distinguished roll-call of winners, which includes 2-time FedEx Cup champion Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk.

Luke Donald finished in a tie for third place, alongside K.J Choi and Baddeley. The world number one might have won the FedEx Cup himself had he finished no worse than a three-way tie for 2nd, but pars at the final hole by both Baddeley and Mahan saw the Englishman miss out on the jackpot. Choi could have joined the playoff himself but missed the birdie chance that would have put him into a share of the lead, while Charles Howell III and Jason Day could also failed to find the necessary last-hole birdie to join the extra-time shootout.

Webb Simpson weaves another win with Deutsche Bank Championship victory

Webb Simpson won a dramatic Deutsche Bank Championship – the second leg of the FedEx Cup competition – with a play-off defeat of countryman Chez Reavie.

With the tournament destined for Reavie’s hands, Simpson rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole to post a 6-under par round of 65 to charge up the leaderboard but faced an anxious wait to discover whether it would be enough with Reavie still out on the course.

Reavie had looked to have wrapped up the win coming to the 18th with six birdies already on the card. With a par at the last being good enough to secure the win, Reavie laid up short of the green but inexplicably put his wedge approach long and over the green. He recovered to 10 feet and still had a putt to win, but watched as the putt slid agonisingly past the hole, shaving the side of the cup as it slipped away.

Replaying the 18th, Reavie chipped close to the hole to tap-in for birdie and put pressure on Simpson, who faced a testing 15-footer to prolong the playoff. He rolled the put into the hole and the pair moved to the par-4 17th hole, where Simpson’s 8-footer for birdie clinched his second win in three tournaments, after he captured the Wyndham Championship just a few weeks previously.

England’s Luke Donald, the current world number one, looked likely to take a hand in the finish and was matching strides with the leaders after turning in a blistering 6-under par 30 strokes. However, his challenge was derailed by a double bogey at the 12th hole, and afterwards it was always an uphill battle; a further bogey on the 16th tempered with a birdie on the 18th hole.

Donald was joined by Brandt Snedeker, who posted a closing 66 – and briefly held the lead – and Australian Jason Day, who carded 68 as the trio tied for third place, two shots behind Simpson and Reavie.

Jim Furyk continues to show signs of recovery after a largely disappointing 2011 season with a round of 68 to finish alone in 6th for only his third top-10 finish this season.

Bubba Watson, who started the day as leader with a one-shot advantage carded an early birdie, but it was all downhill from that point as Bubba went on to rack up seven bogeys and another birdie, before an eagle at the last saw him sign for a disappointing 74 and drop into a tie for 16th place.

Phil Mickelson, using a belly putter for the first time in competition, had posted a third round 63 to give himself a chance at a win, but couldn’t match those exploits on his final round, posting a 69 to share tenth.

Simpson’s win moves him to top spot in the FedEx Cup rankings, and will finish at worst in fifth place when the series concludes at The Tour Championship at the end of the month. Reavie’s runner-up finish also guarantees him a place in the closing event, as well as entry into three majors next season, including the US Masters.

But for several top players their involvement in the four event series came to an end after they failed to make the top-70 in the standings and advance to the third event – the BMW Championship in two weeks time. Among the big names to miss out were 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell, Ryder Cup players Ian Poulter and Padraig Harrington, and 2009 Open Champion Stewart Cink.

Dustin Johnson wins weather-shortened The Barclays

Dustin Johnson took the opening event of this season’s FedEx Cup with a blistering 19-under par total in the 54 hole weather-shortened The Barclays event at Plainfield Country Club, New Jersey.

Despite the elements brought on by Hurricane Irene, Johnson carded rounds of 66-63-65 to beat off Matt Kuchar by two shots. Johnson now tops the FedEx Cup standings after lifting the $1.3million first prize.

Heavy rain throughout the first two days forced officials to curtail the 72-hole event to 54 holes, and there was even the possibility of further reducing the tournament to just 36 holes if the weather on Saturday deteriorated enough to cause the third round to be abandoned. Had that happened, then Matt Kuchar would have been crowned the victory.

But the rains on Saturday held off enough for Johnson to overhaul his Ryder Cup team-mate and record his first win of the season; shooting 29 on the front nine for the second day in succession. On day one, he shot 30 over the opening nine holes.

Brandt Snedeker took a share of third place, one behind Kuchar, but might have finished closer but for a bogey on the 13th hole which halted an attempt at 59. Snedeker opened his round with a run of five successive birdies and added three more by the 12th hole before the 13th hole proved unlucky. Despite closing with three more birdies in his closing four holes, that dropped shot proved costly as he signed for a 61.

Snedeker was joined in the tie by veteran Fijian Vijay Singh, who closed with a 68, while Jonathan Byrd signed for a 67 to take fifth.

The top-100 players in the rankings now move onto the second event in the four-event series, the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston. Among those to make the 100 were Ian Poulter, who birdied four of his last five holes and Padraig Harrington, who climed from his opening ranking of 124 to 80 with a tie for 13th place. Ernie Elso would have been eliminated from the series had the event been cut to 36-holes, but shot a third round 67 to squeeze in at no.99.

The FedEx Cup – How It Works

You may think that the PGA Championship signalled the end of the golf season for this year but the FedEx Cup playoffs still leave plenty for the guys on tour to play for which means there is plenty more drama for us golf fans to witness before 2012.

If like many golf fans don’t know what the FedEx Cup is and how it works the here is our guide to the end of season playoffs that will see someone walk away with a whopping $10,000,000! Read more

Simpson claims first Tour win with victory in Greensboro

Webb Simpson became the latest first-time winner of a PGA Tour event with a 3-shot victory at The Wyndham Championhip, Sedgefield Country Club – the final event before the PGA Tour playoffs for the FedEx Cup.

Simpson, a North Carolina native, put together a bogey-free 67 to post a winning 18-under par total, helped by two late birdies on the 15th and 16th holes to see off the late thrust of George McNeill, who was also error-free in his 6-under par 64 to finish in second place.

Simpson had taken the lead in the tournament midway through the third round after going on a late scoring run to post four birdies and an eagle, and began his final round in steady fashion with eight consecutive pars before his first birdie of the day at the par-4 ninth hole, and his back-to-back gains saw him come to the final two holes with a three shot lead.

Tommy ‘Two Gloves’ Gainey had been amongst the leaders from the outset of the tournament on Thursday, and led or shared the lead until halfway in the tournament, but his challenge seemed to be faltering as he posted two bogeys and a double-bogey in a five hole stretch before going on a four-birdie streak to get back in contention. However, the damage to his bid for the title had been done.

Gainey, who hails from South Carolina, did, however, hold on for third spot ahead of veterans Vijay Singh and Jerry Kelly, who shared fourth spot with Korean Kyung-tae Kim, Swede Carl Pettersson and fellow American Charles Howell III.

With the Wyndham marking the final chance for players to claim FedEx Cup spots, some big names came to Greensboro’ hoping to stake a claim to be among the 125 strong field. Among them was Padraig Harrington who cut short a family holiday to try to make the field for the first event in the series, The Barclays.

And Harrington just squeezed into the top-125 after finishing at 6-under par. Harrington claimed spot number 124 of 125.

Ernie Els also made it into the field for The Barclays after going into the week outside the ‘bubble’ at 126. Els, despite a 2-over par 72 in his final round did enough to push him to 118th spot and safely inside.

Simpson’s win saw him pick up the winner’s prize of $936,000 and he becomes the 12th first-time winner on the PGA Tour in the 2011 season.

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