DeChambeau wins at Trust
FedEx Cup, Ryder Cup on his mind
PARAMUS, N.J. — 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.”
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.
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. He finished at 18-under 266.
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.
DeChambeau narrowly missed earning one of the eight automatic spots for the U.S. Ryder Cup 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 24year-old Californian with victories at the Memorial and a FedEx Cup playoff.