A GREAT SUMMER of golf finally paid off for Henrik Stenson.
Stenson made three straight birdies to race by a fast-fading Sergio Garcia, and he holed a bunker shot for birdie on the 17th hole to turn back a final threat from Steve Stricker and win the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Mass., yesterday.
Stenson was runner-up in the British Open and World Golf Championship, and he tied for third at the PGA Championship. All that was missing was a trophy, and he took care of that at the soggy TPC Boston by closing with a 5-under 66 for a two-shot win over Stricker.
The 37-year-old Swede moved to the top of the FedEx Cup standings after two playoff events, assuring him his first trip to the Tour Championship and a clear shot at the $10 million prize.
"I'm just pleased I won here," said Stenson, who tied the tournament record at 22-under 262. "This was a big goal of mine to win a golf tournament after all those nice finishes."
Stricker's runner-up finish earned him a spot on the Presidents Cup.
The 10th spot for the American team came down to Zach Johnson and Webb Simpson, who were in the same group yesterday. Johnson made a 25-foot birdie putt on the last hole to beat out Simpson by $5,715. The tournament will be played Oct. 3-6, 2013, at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
The other spots on the team went to Tiger Woods, Brandt Snedeker, Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley, Bill Haas and Hunter Mahan.
Graham DeLaet, of Canada, finished third to secure his spot on the International team. His teammates will be Adam Scott, Jason Day, Charl Schwartzel, Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuizen, Hideki Matsuyama, Branden Grace, Richard Sterne and Angel Cabrera.
Each team must still select two wildcard players.