Marc Leishman managed a five-stroke lead, securing consecutive birdies at the end of the fourth round on Sunday, and he delivered a 67 (minus 4) to set a new course record.
This five-point win propels the Australian directly to East Lake to compete in the PGA Tour Championship next week, giving him a good chance of winning the FedEx Cup and US $ 10 million is attached.
Leishman showed a cumulative score of minus 23, lowering the record for 72 holes set by American golfer’s Tiger Woods in 2007.
This victory could not have been better for Leishman. At the Dell Championship two weeks ago, he’d let a two-run lead into the last nine of TPC Boston.
“I’m hitting some really good iron shots which is important, give me a lot of opportunities.” Leishman said about his third PGA Tour title.
“I feel awesome about this. It’s a long weekend when you lead every day. I did not sleep with that five-shot lead.
“I still had the scars from two weeks ago, I was just very determined not to let it happen again. I wanted to finish the tournament.” he added.
The 33-year-old golfer took a two-stroke lead into the final nine holes of the Dell Technologies- Championship but shot 40 on the inward nine and finished third, two weeks ago.
Marc Leishman poses with the Wadley Cup and win the BMW Championship. (Source:www.in.reutres.com)
The attention was a little more focused towards the race for the top-30 of the FedEx Cup standings. Rookie Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay managed a major birdie to get their East Lake pass.
British’s Justin Rose played 65 and tied for second place with American Rickie Fowler (67), minus -18. Under a round of 69, Australian Jason Day seized only fourth place, minus -16.
With a final round of 65, Adam Hadwin was the top-ranked Canadian. He climbed 15 ranks to finish tied in 40th place, minus-7. He is ranked 21st in the FedEx Cup and will compete in the PGA Tour Championship.
Canada’s remaining golfer, Mackenzie Hughes, played 74 and finished the event tied at 44th, minus-6. He slipped into 36th place in the FedEx Cup standings and will not be in East Lake.