Bill Haas did what his highly regarded father Jay could never do on Sunday. He not only won The Tour Championship, he also laid claim to golf's richest play-off victory in history.

The unassuming 29-year-old beat fellow American Hunter Mahan in a sudden-death play-off to win The Tour Championship and the $1.4 million first prize and then subsequently learned, to his great delight, that the points he had earned from this victory were enough to clinch the FedEx Cup play-off series and enable him to bank the massive 10 million dollar bonus that went with it.

After a see-saw day of changing leaders, Haas had played his final round in a 2-under-par 68, leaving him at 8-under 272 for the week and tied with Mahan, who had shared the lead with Aaron Baddeley entering Sunday's final round and then closed with a 71.

Baddeley (72), Luke Donald (69) and KJ Choi (70) finished one shot back in a tie for third, but the Haas-Mahan duel going down a tense closing stretch was perhaps the biggest story of the day.

And it took up so much of Haas' focus that he admitted afterwards that his two-trophy triumph and 11.5 million dollar pay day had taken a bit of time to sink in - though he was not unaware that he would be taking away the FedEx Cup jackpot along with his Tour Championship prize money when he arrived at the trophy presentation.

"We did some TV interviews up in the grandstands there on 18 and both trophies were there," Haas told the media in an interview after his third PGA Tour victory.

"I saw there was no other player, so I kind of assumed I might have won it," he said to loud laughter. "I looked at my wife and she nodded her head, so that was when I realised."

Every player in the elite field of 30 began the week with a mathematical chance of winning a FedExCup series points race which Webb Simpson was leading closely followed by England's world number one Luke Donald.

However both found it a bridge too far in the end, Simpson finishing in 22nd place on a day when 18th would have given him the $10 million bonus while Donald got within a whisker, tying for third when a lone third place would have earned him the FedEx Cup.

"I knew $10 million was on the line somehow, whether Luke Donald won it or Webb Simpson won it or I won it, it was there, so that was in my head," said Haas.

"When I was putting for that four-footer to win, it was just to win the Tour Championship, knowing that was all I could do."

Haas played alongside Donald in Sunday's final round and thought at first that the US-based Englishman had done enough to take away the FedEx title.

"When he birdied the last, I thought that had won the FedExCup for him. So afterwards I told him, 'Congratulations, I hope that won it for you - and I just hope maybe I can win this tournament'."

This was before he took on Mahan in the playoff of which he said: "I was fortunate to get into a playoff. It was my third one this year and I was 0 for 2 coming into this one. But I told myself it's not over until it's over.

"I could hole this chip; anything can happen. And I did. It was somewhat of a learning experience for me because anything can and did happen."

Haas' heroics on Sunday were closely followed by his dad and early mentor Jay, a nine-time PGA Tour winner who is currently playing the over-50s Champions Tour with a lot of success.

"When my dad watches, I seem to perform maybe a little bit," Haas said with a grin.

Haas comes from a family of accomplished golfers. His great uncle Bob Goalby won the 1968 Masters.

Jay, as it turns out, has already been appointed as an assistant to United States Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples and his son may just have done enough at East Lake to earn one of the two wild cards for the 12-man team.

Tiger Woods has already been promised the other by Couples who will announce his two picks on Tuesday.

"I'm not going to say it gets me to Australia," said Haas. "But it definitely puts me in the talk up there ... I did what I could do.

"I would love to represent the United States in the Presidents Cup and play for Fred Couples."

Earlier in a dramatic day, Haas looked to have squandered his three-shot lead and lost out on the greatest pay day of his life when his third shot at storied East Lake's 17th hole bounced off the green and trickled into some shallow water on the edge of East Lake.

More often than not playing a ball from out of the water, even shallow water, can prove disastrous as Jean Van Velde knows only too well, but Haas believed he had no other option and took a chance.

For once it worked.

Though the ball was perhaps a quarter of an inch below the surface of the water, he caught it cleanly and to his relief, saw it roll to within a couple of feet of the hole. It was an amazing moment that turned the tide.

"I got an unbelievably fortunate break there," Haas said. "It was just like a bunker shot there in the water."

Mahan said of it: "I figured, 'Boy, he's in the water. If he hits it within 10 feet, it's going to be a helluva shot.' He hit it to two feet, so you've got to tip your hat to him."

It completed a roller-coaster final 90 minutes in which Haas charged into a three-shot lead with just three holes left then watched it disappear with two closing bogeys, before going on to win the richest playoff in golf history with that chip-in par at the first extra hole where Mahan was unable to save his par after finding a greenside bunker.

With FedEx points front-runner Webb Simpson stumbling on the final day, Haas and Mahan, even though they might nor have been aware of it, had both moved up into line for the $10 million FedEx bonus if they could win at East Lake - and this despite the fact that neither were among the top 20 contenders at the start of the week.

Haas flew in under the radar from the 25th spot, edging Simpson by 15 points.

"I'm a little disappointed I didn't play any better," said Simpson, who finished 22nd for the tournament and could have won the FedEx Cup if he had made two less bogeys. "But I'm pretty tired right now, and it's kind of shown in my golf game this week."

Info at:

tabita@amazingvenicegolf.com

www.amazingvenicegolf.com

Original source: http://www.golf365.com/news_story/0,17923,9786_7203928,00.html

Justin Rose and Luke Donald are among five players with a realistic chance of winning the FedEx Cup at the concluding Tour Championship in Atlanta.

England's Rose is third in the rankings after last week's BMW win in Chicago, while world number one Donald is fourth in the race for the $10m (£6.4m) bonus.

Americans Webb Simpson and Dustin Johnson lead the standings but all 30 players have a theoretical chance.

Matt Kuchar is fifth and a win for any of the top five would secure the Cup.

But any of the elite field, which has been whittled down from 125 in the first of the four Fed Ex events, can still win overall should the top five fall short.

Donald is also second on the PGA Tour money list for 2011 and top of the European Tour equivalent, the Race to Dubai, and is bidding to become the first player to win both lists in the same season.

Asked about the potential of winning both the FedExCup purse and a further $1.4m for the Atlanta tournament, Donald said: "I'm not really thinking about the money. I'm really more concentrating on winning the tournament, picking up another trophy, all the spoils that comes with it. But the bonus money is nice.

"I've been very fortunate. It's not like I can't afford to buy things. I have two nice houses. I don't spend a lot of stuff on materialistic stuff."

The 33-year-old Donald, who became world number one in May but missed the cut at this year's Open and is still to win a major, believes a key strategic element this week will be to leave putts below the hole on East Lake's slick greens.

"You need to put yourself in the right positions here and give yourself good looks," he said. "These greens can get quite fast, and putting uphill is a big advantage."

Rose, who beat the 70-man field to win by two shots in Chicago, said: "Last week the cheque didn't enter into my mind once until I saw the number [$1.4m], and I was like, whoa, that's a big cheque.

"This week, it's the first time it really gets people's attention and it changes and it's a big amount of money... thinking that way about it, though, doesn't help you play better golf.

"The key and the strategy still is to do what you do best, to use all your skills, to stay in the moment. What makes winning a huge challenge is to deal with the pressure of the $10m and keep your game in shape and in check."

Johnson won the opening event, the Barclays, in New Jersey at the end of August before Simpson won the 100-strong Deutsche Bank tournament in a play-off in Boston at the beginning of September.

Info at:

tabita@amazingvenicegolf.com

www.amazingvenicegolf.com

Original source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/14999124.stm

Geoff Ogilvy has won the last automatic spot in the International team for the Presidents Cup by finishing third at the BMW Championship.

The 34-year-old Australian pipped compatriot John Senden after the latter needed victory to secure his place.

The ninth Presidents Cup - where the USA meet a non-European International side in a Ryder Cup-style format - takes place in Melbourne in November.

Australians Jason Day and Adam Scott will join Ogilvy in the International team, captained by Greg Norman.

South Africans Charl Schwartzel, Retief Goosen and Ernie Els, South Koreans KJ Choi, Kim Kyung-tae and Yang Yong-Eun plus Japan's Ryo Ishikawa complete Norman's squad.

Senden could still get a spot if he is named as one of Norman's two captain's picks on 27 September.

The automatic qualifiers for the American line-up are Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Webb Simpson, Nick Watney, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Hunter Mahan and Toms.

US captain Fred Couples named Tiger Woods, who has not won a tournament since November 2009, as the first of two captain's picks last month, and though the 51-year-old has come in for criticism for the choice, Couples has stood by his decision.

"The majority of the people I talk to liked the pick and a handful don't," said Couples ahead of the four-day event at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club, which runs from 17-20 November.

"Tiger was in the heat of battle in Augusta [and] almost won there.

"He has done everything I asked him to do and so I told him the reason I picked him early was there was some things I needed him to do.

"I talk to Tiger a lot and I know he is working hard I am counting on him to play well in Australia.

"We win by several guys playing well. We don't need everyone playing incredible golf."

Info at:

tabita@amazingvenicegolf.com

www.amazingvenicegolf.com

Original source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/14972817.stm

Geoff Ogilvy has won the last automatic spot in the International team for the Presidents Cup by finishing third at the BMW Championship.

The 34-year-old Australian pipped compatriot John Senden after the latter needed victory to secure his place.

The ninth Presidents Cup - where the USA meet a non-European International side in a Ryder Cup-style format - takes place in Melbourne in November.

Australians Jason Day and Adam Scott will join Ogilvy in the International team, captained by Greg Norman.

South Africans Charl Schwartzel, Retief Goosen and Ernie Els, South Koreans KJ Choi, Kim Kyung-tae and Yang Yong-Eun plus Japan's Ryo Ishikawa complete Norman's squad.

Senden could still get a spot if he is named as one of Norman's two captain's picks on 27 September.

The automatic qualifiers for the American line-up are Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Webb Simpson, Nick Watney, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Hunter Mahan and Toms.

US captain Fred Couples named Tiger Woods, who has not won a tournament since November 2009, as the first of two captain's picks last month, and though the 51-year-old has come in for criticism for the choice, Couples has stood by his decision.

"The majority of the people I talk to liked the pick and a handful don't," said Couples ahead of the four-day event at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club, which runs from 17-20 November.

"Tiger was in the heat of battle in Augusta [and] almost won there.

"He has done everything I asked him to do and so I told him the reason I picked him early was there was some things I needed him to do.

"I talk to Tiger a lot and I know he is working hard I am counting on him to play well in Australia.

"We win by several guys playing well. We don't need everyone playing incredible golf."

Info at:

tabita@amazingvenicegolf.com

www.amazingvenicegolf.com

Original source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/14972817.stm

Geoff Ogilvy has won the last automatic spot in the International team for the Presidents Cup by finishing third at the BMW Championship.

The 34-year-old Australian pipped compatriot John Senden after the latter needed victory to secure his place.

The ninth Presidents Cup - where the USA meet a non-European International side in a Ryder Cup-style format - takes place in Melbourne in November.

Australians Jason Day and Adam Scott will join Ogilvy in the International team, captained by Greg Norman.

South Africans Charl Schwartzel, Retief Goosen and Ernie Els, South Koreans KJ Choi, Kim Kyung-tae and Yang Yong-Eun plus Japan's Ryo Ishikawa complete Norman's squad.

Senden could still get a spot if he is named as one of Norman's two captain's picks on 27 September.

The automatic qualifiers for the American line-up are Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Webb Simpson, Nick Watney, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Hunter Mahan and Toms.

US captain Fred Couples named Tiger Woods, who has not won a tournament since November 2009, as the first of two captain's picks last month, and though the 51-year-old has come in for criticism for the choice, Couples has stood by his decision.

"The majority of the people I talk to liked the pick and a handful don't," said Couples ahead of the four-day event at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club, which runs from 17-20 November.

"Tiger was in the heat of battle in Augusta [and] almost won there.

"He has done everything I asked him to do and so I told him the reason I picked him early was there was some things I needed him to do.

"I talk to Tiger a lot and I know he is working hard I am counting on him to play well in Australia.

"We win by several guys playing well. We don't need everyone playing incredible golf."

Info at:

tabita@amazingvenicegolf.com

www.amazingvenicegolf.com

Original source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/14972817.stm

England's Simon Dyson moved into the world's top 30 for the first time in his career after winning the KLM Open in the Netherlands. The 33-year-old from York birdied four of the last seven holes to beat compatriot David Lynn by a single shot. Scotland's Gary Orr had shared the lead with South Africa's James Kingston going into the final day, but Dyson moved ahead with a strong round of 66. "After a wayward bogey on the 11th, I played some flawless golf," said Dyson. The Englishman had recovered well after an early bogey on the fourth to land his third Dutch Open in six years. "I started a bit shakily with some wayward drives but I'm really pleased," he said. Rory McIlroy finished third, good enough to take him back to third in the world rankings, while number two Lee Westwood's closing 66 lifted him from 18th to fifth. Dyson's victory was also his second in seven weeks. He took the Irish Open at the end of July - also finishing with a round of 66 - but on this occasion he had to wait to see if his 12-under-par total of 268 was good enough. Lynn, whose triumph on the same Hilversum course seven years ago was his only one in 351 European Tour events, and Orr were both on the 16th, two shots behind. They did well to save par there, then Lynn's 15-foot birdie attempt at the next hung on the lip. It left both of them needing to eagle the par five last and while Orr's chance went after he pushed his drive and had to lay up - in the end he took six to drop to fourth - Lynn had a 30-footer to force a play-off, but ran it wide. Dyson joins a list of three-time winners of the title that includes Seve Ballesteros and Bernhard Langer. "I'm absolutely delighted to be on the same trophy as names like those two," added Dyson. "It's something special, a dream come true really. "To win any title once is tough, but to win it three times is a fantastic feeling." He birdied three in a row from the 12th to take over at the top and then made the task harder for those chasing him with a two-putt birdie four on the last.

Info at:

tabita@amazingvenicegolf.com

www.amazingvenicegolf.com

Original source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/14873574.stm

England's Simon Dyson moved into the world's top 30 for the first time in his career after winning the KLM Open in the Netherlands.

The 33-year-old from York birdied four of the last seven holes to beat compatriot David Lynn by a single shot.

Scotland's Gary Orr had shared the lead with South Africa's James Kingston going into the final day, but Dyson moved ahead with a strong round of 66.

"After a wayward bogey on the 11th, I played some flawless golf," said Dyson.

The Englishman had recovered well after an early bogey on the fourth to land his third Dutch Open in six years.

"I started a bit shakily with some wayward drives but I'm really pleased," he said.

Rory McIlroy finished third, good enough to take him back to third in the world rankings, while number two Lee Westwood's closing 66 lifted him from 18th to fifth.

Dyson's victory was also his second in seven weeks. He took the Irish Open at the end of July - also finishing with a round of 66 - but on this occasion he had to wait to see if his 12-under-par total of 268 was good enough.

Lynn, whose triumph on the same Hilversum course seven years ago was his only one in 351 European Tour events, and Orr were both on the 16th, two shots behind. They did well to save par there, then Lynn's 15-foot birdie attempt at the next hung on the lip.

It left both of them needing to eagle the par five last and while Orr's chance went after he pushed his drive and had to lay up - in the end he took six to drop to fourth - Lynn had a 30-footer to force a play-off, but ran it wide.

Dyson joins a list of three-time winners of the title that includes Seve Ballesteros and Bernhard Langer.

"I'm absolutely delighted to be on the same trophy as names like those two," added Dyson. "It's something special, a dream come true really.

"To win any title once is tough, but to win it three times is a fantastic feeling."

He birdied three in a row from the 12th to take over at the top and then made the task harder for those chasing him with a two-putt birdie four on the last.

Info at:

tabita@amazingvenicegolf.com

www.amazingvenicegolf.com

Original source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/14873574.stm

Webb Simpson blazed home with birdies on each of the last three holes and then won a play-off at the second extra hole to claim his PGA Tour title No 2 this year.

More important, that title just happened to have been won in the Deutsche Bank Championship, the second leg of the FedEx Cup four-series Play-offs, and has set him up as one of the strongest contenders to win the Cup's $10 million bonanza for the player with the most points after the Cup finale, The Tour Championship, in Atlanta later this month..

Simpson out-ran most of his rivals, including Luke Donald, Jason Day, Adam Scott and Charl Schwartzel in the TPC Boston race, those three late birdies taking him to a 15-under 269 total, but he couldn't shake off dogged, fellow-American Chez Reavie.

In fact Reavie looked as if he was about to win coming down the 18th - until he found some ugly rough beside the final green, airmailed the hole with his chip, came up short with his return shot and then missed the 12-foot putt he needed to win

Simpson, who had showed no emotion as he stood with his wife and baby watching Reavie's vital stumble, was just as icy cool when he won the resultant sudden-death play-off at the second extra hole (the par four 17th) by sinking an eight-foot birdie putt after Reavie had missed his attempt there from 23 feet.

England's World No 1 Luke Donald, who led the final round at one stage until he ran into a double-bogey, bogey stretch, carded a closing 67 to tie for third at 13 under, level with American Brandt Snedeker (66) and Australian Jason Day (68).

"I told somebody that I thought winning for the second time might be easier but it certainly wasn't. It was tough," Simpson, who his first PGA Tour title at last month's Wyndham Championship, told a TV presenter after his greatest victory

"To finish the way I did, and birdie 17 in the playoff, was awesome."

It's awesome indeed.

The 26-year-old's $1.44 million first prize moved him to the top of both the FedEx Cup and US Money winners standings with total prize money so far this year of over $5.3 million and clinched his place in the US Presidents Cup team.

Reavie, who started the season playing on a medical exemption, rocketed from 87th place to ninth in the FedEx Cup standings with his runner-up finish.

"To be number one in the FedExCup with two weeks to go, I couldn't expect anything more," Simpson said.

"The goal is to be in the top five going into Atlanta and it looks like I'm in a good position to do that so I am thrilled."

The leading 70 players in the points standings move on to next week's BMW Championship in Illinois before the top 30 qualify for the Tour Championship finale at Atlanta.

Simpson made a blistering start to the final round, reaching the turn in six-under 30, but he slowed after that with a bogey at the 10th and failed to make any further progress until those three closing birdies that cut Reavie's lead to one.

Simpson believed he was about to come up just short in his own title bid as he stood watching his rivals progress on the closing hole.

"I figured my chances were one in a hundred," Simpson said. "He played so well today, my hat's off to him. One thing I will say, though, is that on 18 there was a tricky pn and if you pulled it a little, it easily went over the green."

Reavie did exactly that and ended up bogeying the hole despite having a wedge in his hand for his third shot from just 117 yards.

"My game plan with a one-shot lead was to lay it up, wedge it on and make a par," Reavie said. "That's all I had to do and there was no risk in that unless you hit a wedge over the green."

Info at:

tabita@amazingvenicegolf.com

www.amazingvenicegolf.com

Original source: http://www.golf365.com/news_story/0,17923,9786_7153086,00.html

Denmark's Thomas Bjorn clinched back-to-back titles with victory at the European Masters in Switzerland.

The 40-year-old two-time Ryder Cup star, who won last week's event at Gleneagles, shot a final-round 62 to win by four shots at Crans-sur-Sierre.

Germany's Martin Kaymer was second on 16 under with Rory McIlroy, Jamie Donaldson and Jaco van Zyl tied third one shot further back.

England's world number two Lee Westwood finished tied for sixth on 14 under.

Bjorn arrived in Switzerland in good form having triumphed in a five-man play-off at the Johnnie Walker Championship in Scotland.

Beginning the day three shots behind overnight leader Jamie Donaldson, the Danish veteran started slowly, sinking pars in the first three holes before a bogey on the fourth.

But he followed that up with four straight birdies and added another at the 11th to race ahead.

A second bogey came on the 12th, but he sank a 12-foot putt for eagle at the par-five 15th and then nailed two eight-foot putts in the closing par fours to ease to his third victory of the season.

"The way I finished was special and it's been an amazing two weeks," said Bjorn, who also won in Qatar in February.

"I started hitting my wedges so well last week and kept it going.

"At the end you think nothing can go wrong. Golf seems easy sometimes and you have to remember that when you are not playing well."

Bjorn has now won 13 times on the European Tour stretching back to 1996, but he has had a somewhat rollercoaster career, admitting "fighting demons" after he lost the 2003 Open from three ahead with four to play.

He went through another low earlier this year following the death of his father, but after also finishing fourth at the Open he is now back in the world's top 30.

The European Masters was the first qualifying event for next year's Ryder Cup, so Bjorn, who played on the European team in 1997 and 2002, leads the standings.

The Dane, who is chairman of the Tour's players' committee, has since served as an assistant to Bernhard Langer in 2004 and Colin Montgomerie at Celtic Manor last year.

However, when asked if it was possible for him to return to the team to play in Chicago in September 2012, he said: "There's a long, long way to go and with the talent we have, it's going to take a few more of these weeks."

World number six McIlroy, who had a share of the lead after the second round, started the final day two off the lead.

The US Open champion birdied the first two holes to move into a share of the lead, but his putter let him down thereafter and he faded to finish five shots off Bjorn.

The Northern Irishman, who was playing for the first time since injuring his arm against a tree root at the US PGA Championship, said: "It was a bittersweet week.

"Coming back off the injury I didn't know what to expect. To get myself into contention was great and the arm felt 100% healthy, which is a huge positive."

Info at:

tabita@amazingvenicegolf.com

www.amazingvenicegolf.com

Original source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/14780211.stm

Earlier in the week, PGA Tour professional Rocco Mediate, the defending champion of the Frys.com Open, the event on the Tour's Fall series Woods has decided to enter to try and gain a bit more form ahead of the President's Cup, gave a less than flattering appraisal of some of the help Woods has been receiving in recent times with his swing.

Mediate was adamant that the former world number one was not going in the right direction, and he blamed both Woods' current swing coach Sean Foley, and his predecessor Hank Haney.

"I love the way he plays, but I'm disgusted with what's going on with him because it's sad for our game," Mediate told Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle on Tuesday.

"A lot of guys are happy Tiger isn't playing well. I'm not.

"We need to have Tiger back at the top, because he's the draw. It's fantastic all these other kids are winning, but they're not Tiger Woods."

Mediate feels that the swing changes they have made to the 14-time major champ not only hasn't helped him win tournaments again, it hasn't even been able to keep him fit and healthy. He feels the swing puts too much stress on his body.

"The physical motion is wrong," he said. "To get that stress off his body is a piece of cake - the guys working with him just don't know. Sean knows some stuff, but what's going on with Tiger is not correct. That's why he keeps breaking and that's why the ball keeps going sideways.

"Starting with Haney until now, it was a complete and absolute destruction.

"If it was me (as Woods' instructor), I would say to Tiger, 'Look, dude, I'm not helping you. You're getting worse. You've broken down three times and you've had 57 knee surgeries. It's not happening.'"

While GolfChannel.com tried but were unsuccessful at getting a response from Foley, Hank Haney did respond, and he wasn't about to take any responsibility for Woods' current troubles.

"Rocco is entitled to his opinion and I respect that," he said. "Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but no one is entitled to their own facts.

"Tiger's record while I helped him speaks for itself. The last three years I was with Tiger he won 45 percent of his starts; he finished in the top-10 in 85 percent of his tournaments. In 2009, Tiger won seven times and was in the top 10 in 17 out of 19 tournaments. My last tournament with Tiger was the 2010 Masters, which was his first tournament back after the scandal and he finished fourth which, by the way, is [tied for] his best finish in the last two seasons on Tour.

"The assertion by Rocco that my teaching somehow contributed to Tiger's decline is frankly absurd and clearly not supported by the facts."

Info at:

tabita@amazingvenicegolf.com

www.amazingvenicegolf.com

Original source: http://www.golf365.com/news_story/0,17923,9786_7142288,00.html