Heath Slocum saved par in dramatic fashion at the final hole to clinch a one-shot victory over an illustrious chasing trio and playing partner Steve Stricker in The Barclays at Liberty National in New Jersey. With Pádraig Harrington, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els all in the clubhouse on eight under, Slocum and Stricker - also on nine under - both found bunkers off the tee at the 18th.
Neither was able to reach the green in two, and when Slocum eventually left his third shot 20 feet short of the hole and Stricker 10 feet, a play-off looked certain.
But Slocum rolled his putt into the middle of the hole, and then watched Stricker miss on the left, as he claimed his first PGA Tour victory since 2005 and the biggest of his career.
The 35-year-old qualified for the FedEx play-offs in 124th place out of 125 but now heads into next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship ranked third.
Slocum said: “That’s what it’s all about. I was sweating it out last week. I didn’t even know if I’d be here. I came in here with the attitude that I had nothing to lose.”
Multiple major winners Woods and Harrington had climbed into contention with four-under rounds of 67 yesterday, and they both repeated the feat today, with Els going one better with a 66.
Woods could have matched the South African but uncharacteristically missed a six-foot birdie putt on the last.
Harrington has found some form over the last few weeks and he again finished strongly today, birdieing four of his last seven holes.
"I was pushing as hard as I could," said the Dubliner. "I know wins will come along. It's nice to play better as I got more in contention. That's always a good sign."
England’s Ian Poulter had to settle for a tie for ninth after shooting a one-under round of 70 to move to five under.
That was the same score as Paul Goydos, who had gone into the final round as the joint leader on nine under but could manage only a 75.
Steve Marino, who was in the final pairing with Goydos, fared even worse, however, slumping to a 77 to finish tied for 15th.
US PGA winner YE Yang posted a 71 to finish at two under, two ahead of European leading lights Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald while Justin Rose was tied for 41st at two over.
