DeChambeau takes giant step
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.
To his right was the silver trophy Bryson DeChambeau won Sunday at The Northern Trust, a victory that felt comfortable to everyone but him. To his left was the silver FedEx Cup trophy, a reminder of the ultimate prize in the PGA Tour season.
Missing was the gold Ryder Cup trophy.
DeChambeau took a giant step toward playing for that, too.
“Like I said yesterday, I’m a man on a mission right now two missions, actually,” DeChambeau said after a four-shot victory in the opening FedEx Cup playoff event. “One being the Ryder Cup and one being the FedEx Cup. I’m doing pretty well right now and just got to keep moving forward in the right direction.”
That was the only direction his game went in a final round devoid of much drama.
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 to win by four shots over Tony Finau, who also had the Ryder Cup on his mind.
DeChambeau never felt entirely in control until he stabbed at a chip short of the 12th green a shot he had worked on all week and used that one time that rolled out to 4 feet for a birdie that turned back his only threat.
His only wild shot was on the 18th hole, sending his drive so far to the right that landed in the fairway of a hole that wasn’t being used at Ridgewood Country Club. He still had a good angle to the green, made par and finished at 18-under 266.
He won for the second time this year, both against some of the strongest fields.
He moved to the top of the FedEx Cup standings and is virtually 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 for no 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. Jim 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.
“Hopefully he can see
that I’ve got some grit and grind, and that even when I don’t execute certain shots, I can get it done,” DeChambeau said.
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 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 with that chip from just short of the reachable par-4 12th for birdie.
No one got any closer the rest of the way.
Finau cracked the top 20 in the world (No. 18) for the first time in his career.
LPGA
CANADIAN HENDERSON WINS COUNTRY’S TITLE >> 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 in the CP Women’s Open at chilly and rainy Wascana Country Club.
The 20-year-old Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ontario, finished at 21-under 267, capping the emotional victory in front of a large, adoring gallery with a short birdie putt on the par-4 18th. The fans chanted her name and sang “O Canada” in celebration.
Web.com Tour
STREB TAKES NATIONWIDE >> Robert Streb won the Web.com Tour Finalsopening Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship to regain full PGA Tour status, beating Peter Malnati with a par on the first hole of a playoff.
Streb closed with an even-par 72 in scattered showers to match Malnati at 12-under 272 on Ohio State University’s Scarlett Course.
The 2015 McGladrey Classic winner for his lone PGA Tour title, Streb was 178th in the FedEx Cup standings to drop into the four-tournament Finals.