The leader by a shot over Reed when Sunday began at demanding Bethpage Black, Fowler finished out bogey, double bogey, birdie and bogey Sunday after he played 45 holes without a single bogey during a stretch in the tournament’s first three days.
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SNOQUALMIE, Wash. (AP) Bernhard Langer made a 3-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff with Woody Austin and Kevin Sutherland to win the PGA Tour Champions’ Boeing Classic for the second time.
Love will announce three of his four Ryder Cup captain s picks September 12 and save his fourth and final pick for September 25th.
1 – This victory means a number of things to Patrick Reed.
Reed tried to downplay the meaning of making the Ryder Cup team, suggesting through the week that his focus was winning the tournament. Instead, the final spot goes to Zach Johnson.
Two years ago, Reed was the darling of an otherwise bleak US performance, successfully teaming with Jordan Spieth and shushing Europe’s home crowd during a singles victory over Henrik Stenson. “It’s time for him to take over a leadership role and help lead us to some victories”.
Fowler failed to make the U.S. team and will have to rely on a captain s pick when Davis Love makes his final four selections in the coming weeks.
Fowler’s best finish this season was a runner-up at the Phoenix Open in February, when he lost to Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama in a playoff.
“You can’t play from the rough out here, especially on the weekend in the afternoon”, Fowler said. Reed made three birdies on the next four holes to tie for the lead, and he seized control early on the back nine. But the Aussie gave back that stroke by bogeying the next hole, and finished at 7-under.
Asked which was more disappointing to him Sunday, failing to win the tournament or not securing the automatic spot on the Ryder Cup team, Fowler said: “Not closing out the tournament, because that would have taken care of both”.
While Fowler slid down the leaderboard, the 26-year-old Reed still held a two-stroke lead entering the final hole.
Dustin Johnson looked close to his best as he made six birdies on the day, although he took a little gloss off his round when he signed off with his second bogey to slip back to four under.
The Barclays marked the start of the PGA Tour playoffs but it also signalled the end of the Ryder Cup qualifying for the Americans. There was just one American in the top nine players.
Rickie Fowler was all smiles when he left TPC Boston a year ago as the victor of the Deutsche Bank Championship. Those missing out will be Shane Lowry, Peter Malnati, Robert Streb, Lucas Glover and Jonas Blixt. That moved him all the way up to No. 15, assuring two more playoff events and giving O’Hair a good shot at staying in the top 30 who qualify for the finale at the Tour Championship.
That’s significant because Reed now is assured of being among the five players who only have to win the Tour Championship at East Lake to capture the FedEx Cup and claim the $10 million bonus, the richest payoff in golf.
The 2015 Barclays victor dropped to second in the standings (3,195).
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David Hearn of Brantford was the top Canadian, finishing the event at 3 over after a final round 73. “I just thought, ‘what difference does it make if I hit this past the hole, because I’ve left every putt short?'”.
