Stricker closes strongly for third win of the year

Norton: Steve Stricker went to the top of the PGA Tour`s points list when he won the USD 7.5 million Deutsche Bank Championship by one stroke on Monday.

The 42-year-old birdied the final two holes, sinking a testing 15-foot putt at the par-four 17th and then tapping in from two feet on the par-five 18th to edge fellow Americans Scott Verplank and Jason Dufner in ideal conditions at the Boston TPC. "Knowing I needed to make a couple of birdies coming in and actually doing it means a lot," Stricker, who shot 67 to finish at 17-under-par 267, told reporters. "Slowly I`ve been gaining confidence when I`m under the gun.” "It`s just a totally different feel.” "You`re numb at times, at least I am. It`s a lot of fun getting in contention and even more fun when you can pull it off like I did today." Stricker collected USD 1.35 million for his seventh career victory. Verplank (67) and Dufner (65) also had tap-in birdies at the last, but could only watch as Stricker, playing behind, slammed the door on their chances of a play-off. Up to 12 players were in contention during the final round as the lead seemed to change by the minute. One of those players in contention was Ireland`s Padraig Harrington, who held the sole lead after nine holes, before his challenge spectacularly collapsed, again. Harrington, who shot 68 to tie for fourth, two strokes off the lead, has now failed to close out his past four tournaments, after being in contention during the final round each time. The Irishman pulled his drives at the par-four 10th and 12th holes, running up a bogey and a double bogey to lose the lead. He subsequently fought back and had a chance to tie for second until he missed a 10-foot eagle putt at the last. "I`ll feel this one a lot more than some of the others, because of the fact it was mine for the winning," said Harrington. "It was in my control.” "I seem to be a little bit better when I`m chasing, and I was happy that I hit a few good shots coming in.” "I hit two beauties down the last to give myself a great chance of possibly a play-off." World number one Tiger Woods shot the day`s best score, a 63, to tie for 11th, five strokes behind Stricker. The Deutsche Bank Championship was the second of the tour`s four play-off events. The top 70 players on a season-long points list now advance to the BMW Championship starting near Chicago on Thursday. The top 30 on the list after that will then move to the Tour Championship finale in Atlanta, where the play-off champion will receive a USD 10 million bonus. Bureau Report