Golf:Webb Simpson has climbed to 14th in the latest world rankings after his play-off victory over Chez Reavie in the Deutsche Bank Championship last night, the second of the FedEx Cup play-off events.
Simpson birdied his last three holes of the day to clinch his second PGA Tour title, coolly sealing the win at the TPC Boston by sinking an eight-foot birdie putt at the second extra hole.
The pair had finished the 72 regulation holes on 15 under par 269, Simpson firing a six under 65 and Reavie, who had been two strokes ahead with two holes to play, bogeying the par-five last for a 66.
Luke Donald signed off with a 67 to tie for third at 13 under, level with American Brandt Snedeker (66) and Australian Jason Day (68).
Pádraig Harrington’s grand chase turned out to be futile, as the 40-year-old Dubliner – yesterday registering a final round 75 for three over par 287.
Having played for six straight weeks, dating back to the Irish Open at the end of July, Harrington’s stateside odyssey took him in turn to Akron, Atlanta, Charleston, New York and then Boston where his bid to stay within the top 70 on the FedEx Cup standings came to a rather tame end.
Harrington went into the final round of the Deutsche Bank – the second of four play-off events on the US Tour’s end-of-season schedule – needing a top-30 finish to move on to the BMW Championship in Chicago next week but failed to find a single birdie. Instead, he ran up four bogeys (at the second, eighth, ninth and 12th) in closing with a 75 that left him in 73rd position in the tournament and in 88th, outside the top-70, on the FedEx Cup standings.
The failure to remain in the FedEx Cup means Harrington’s campaign in the US is at an end for the year and he will now switch his schedule back to the European Tour, with his next appearance expected to be at the Dunhill Links in Scotland in three weeks’ time.
Graeme McDowell’s interest in the FedEx Cup also ended, albeit in more frustrating manner. The Ulsterman bogeyed his penultimate hole and then missed a six-footer for birdie on the 18th which offered him a lifeline as he signed for a closing round 71 for 280, four under par, that wasn’t sufficient to keep him in the play-off series.
Latest leading positions in the world golf rankings:
1 Luke Donald 10.41, 2 Lee Westwood 8.16, 3 Martin Kaymer 7.03, 4 Rory McIlroy6.88, 5 Steve Stricker 6.84, 6 Dustin Johnson 6.75, 7 Jason Day 6.09, 8 Phil Mickelson 5.84, 9 Matt Luchar 5.84, 10 Adam Scott 5.83, 11 Nick Watney 5.36, 12 Charl Schwartzel 5.11, 13 Graeme McDowell4.75, 14 Webb Simpson 4.67, 15 Bubba Watson 4.66, 16 KJ Choi 4.58, 17 David Toms 4.07, 18 Ian Poulter 4.02, 19 Paul Casey 3.93, 20 Robert Karlsson 3.86
Other leading Europeans:
24 Francesco Molinari, 26 Anders Hansen, 28 Thomas Bjorn, 29 Martin Laird, 31 Matteo Manassero, 33 Alvaro Quiros, 36 Miguel Angel Jimenez, 37 Justin Rose, 38
Darren Clarke,47 Sergio Garcia, 51 Peter Hanson, 52 Edoardo Molinari, 55 Simon Dyson, 61 Fredrik Jacobson, 68 Alexander Noren, 72 Ross Fisher, 75
Padraig Harrington,79 Nicolas Colsaerts, 83 Brian Davis, 84 Raphael Jacquelin, 89 Fredrik Andersson Hed, 91 Pablo Larrazabal, 92 Jamie Donaldson, 98 Stephen Gallacher
