DeChambeau sails to 4-shot win at Northern Trust
PARAMUS, N.J. – Bryson DeChambeau completed the first stage of his mission by winning The Northern Trust.
The next one is up to Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk.
Staked to a four-shot lead, DeChambeau never let anyone closer than two shots, ended the threat with consecutive birdies and closed with a 2-under 69 for a four-shot victory over Tony Finau on Sunday in the FedEx Cup opener.
DeChambeau won for the second time this year, both times against some of the strongest fields. He moved to the top of the FedEx Cup standings and was all but assured of being one of the top five seeds at the Tour Championship who have a clear shot at the $10 million bonus.
Also on his mind is playing money at all at the Ryder Cup.
DeChambeau narrowly missed earning one of the eight automatic spots for the U.S. team when he missed the cut at the PGA Championship. Furyk makes three of his four captain’s picks a week from Tuesday, and it will be tough to ignore a 24-year-old Californian with victories at the Memorial and a FedEx Cup playoff event.
DeChambeau, who stayed on the practice range until it was dark Saturday night, came out firing with two straight birdies to stretch the lead to six shots. His only mistakes were a pair of three-putt bogeys on the front nine, the for no second one at No. 9 that reduced his lead to two shots over Aaron Wise. But not for long.
Wise’s threat ended with a bogey on No. 16, about the time DeChambeau got up-and-down from just short of the reachable par-4 12th for birdie. No one got any closer the rest of the way.
LPGA TOUR
REGINA, Saskatchewan – Brooke Henderson became the first Canadian to win the country’s national championship in 45 years, closing with a 7-under 65 for a four-stroke victory Sunday in the CP Women’s Open at chilly Wascana Country Club. The 20-year-old Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ontario, finished at 21-under 267, capping the emotional victory with a short birdie putt on the par-4 18th.
Jocelyne Bourassa is the only other Canadian to win the national championship, accomplishing the feat in 1973 at Montreal Municipal in the inaugural La Canadienne – the event that became the major du Maurier Classic, then the current non-major in 2001.
Henderson earned $337,500 for her second victory of the season and seventh of her LPGA Tour career. Angel Yin was second after a 68. Jennifer Song (67) was six back at 15 under.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Robert Streb won the Web.com Tour Finals-opening Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship to regain full PGA Tour status, beating Peter Malnati with a par on the first hole of a playoff.
“Peter’s a good friend,” Streb said. “We both more or less achieved what we were trying to achieve. I would say it was probably a little more relaxed than normal. Could have flipped a coin, I think everybody would have been all right. It was nice to come out on top.”
Streb closed with an even-par 72 in scattered showers to match Malnati at 12-under 272 on Ohio State University’s Scarlett Course.
EUROPEAN TOUR
VYSOKY UJEZD, Czech Republic – Andrea Pavan produced a strong finish on the way to a 5-under 67 Sunday to win the Czech Masters for his first European Tour title.