Chris Kirk wins PGA Tour Playoff, Deutsche Bank Championship
Going into the final round of the 2014 Deutsche Bank Championship, the field was wide open and plenty of U.S. Ryder Cup captain’s pick contenders were in the hunt. American Chris Kirk, who shot a 7-under par 64 on Sunday, dazzled fans once again when he shot a 5-under par 66 to win the second PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoff event. This was easily Kirk’s biggest win of his career.
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Kirk, 29, played the final 36 holes with Rory McIlroy and outplayed the world’s best golfer and won his second event of the season.
Fellow American, Billy Horschel had a chance to at least force a playoff when he stood in the fairway on the par-5 18th hole with a 6-iron in his hand. Horschel chunked the shot so bad that it barely reached the hazard, and he made bogey for a 69.
Horschel tied for second with 54-hole leader Russell Henley and Geoff Ogilvy. Ogilvy was the last of the 100 qualifiers for the Deutsche Bank Championship. He went 65-65 on the weekend without a bogey and played his way into the next playoff event. The top 70 in the FedEx Cup advance to the BMW Championship in Denver later this week. Ogilvy went from No. 100 to No. 24.
Kirk was No. 14 in the Ryder Cup standings, five spots away from being an automatic qualifier. This victory could go a long way toward U.S. captain Tom Watson using one of his three selections on Kirk.
McIlroy, who started the final round only two shots behind on a course where he won two years ago, fell back with successive bogeys on the front nine, bounced back with a pair of birdies, and then fell off again. He closed with a 70 and tied for fifth.
Kirk takes over No. 1 in the FedEx Cup, giving him a clear shot at the $10 million prize.