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A18 SPORTS
Monday 18 SepteMber 2017
Leishman gets redemption in Chicago, wins BMW Championship
By DOUG FERGUSON short, and a birdie putt that
AP Golf Writer didn’t to the hole.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Jon Rahm birdied four of
The clutch shots down the his last five holes for a 67
stretch in the BMW Cham- and will be the No. 5 seed.
pionship belonged to ev- Jordan Spieth shot 65 to tie
eryone except the winner. for seventh and kept the
Marc Leishman didn’t re- No. 1 seed, followed by
ally need them. Justin Thomas, Dustin John-
Staked to a five-shot lead, son, Leishman and Rahm.
and determined to not let The points are reset to give
another FedEx Cup play- all 30 players at East Lake
off event get away from a mathematical chance,
him. Leishman never gave but the top five seeds
anyone much of a chance only have to win the Tour
Sunday at Conway Farms. Championship to capture
And when Justin Rose the FedEx Cup.
made a late run and As usual, the only drama
closed within two shots, at Conway Farms was who
Leishman made back-to- made it to East Lake, and
back birdies to put away a pair of PGA Tour rookies
the final challenge, and delivered.
then added one more for Xander Schauffele, who
a 4-under 67 to set the tour- Marc Leishman smiles as he poses with the Wadley Cup, left, and the BMW Championship trophy won The Greenbrier Clas-
nament scoring record. after winning the BMW Championship golf tournament at Conway Farms Golf Club, Sunday, Sept. sic in July, opened with 10
Leishman went wire-to-wire 17, 2017, in Lake Forest, Ill. pars and two bogeys and
for the first time on the PGA Tour. The Australian moved up to No. 4 in the FedEx Cup, giving him a clear was not even in the picture
until the San Diego native
shot at the $10 million bo- played his final six holes
nus next week. He moved in 6-under par, including
into the top 15 in the world. a 30-foot eagle when he
But this mainly was about drove the green on the
redemption for losing a par-4 15th.
two-shot lead on the back “A dream year for me,”
nine at the TPC Boston two Schauffele said. “Pretty
weeks ago. much every goal I came
“When the pressure got put up with and I’ve got to start
on that back nine by Rosie, creating some new ones.”
I reacted with birdies,” Patrick Cantlay fell out of
Leishman said. “Didn’t get the top 30 when he took
too worried. Just tried to bogey on the 16th hole.
keep doing my own thing Needing a birdie to get into
and give myself chances. the Tour Championship, he
... Backing up what hap- hit a hybrid onto the green
pened (in Boston) was to 50 feet, left his eagle at-
probably the most satisfy- tempt some 10 feet short
ing thing for me. I was just and calmly holed the putt
really determined to not let to get in.
that happen again.” Cantlay returned to golf
Leishman finished at 23-un- after a three-year break
der 261, breaking the 72- from a back injury that
hole tournament record nearly ended his career,
that Tiger Woods set at and the death of his close
Cog Hill in 2007. friend and caddie, Chris
Rose ran out of hope when Roth, who was hit by car as
he made bogey on the they walked to dinner. The
par-3 17th and closed with former UCLA star made
a 65. Rickie Fowler ran off it to the Tour Champion-
three straight birdies only ship despite playing only
after he was too far back 11 events this year. Being
and shot 67. They finished in the top 30 gets him into
five shots behind. the Masters, U.S. Open and
Fowler needed a birdie on British Open next year.
the par-5 18th to grab the Tony Finau wasn’t sure
No. 5 seed for the FedEx what he needed, but he
Cup finale next week at knew a bogey wasn’t go-
the Tour Championship. He ing to help and he was
ripped driver off the fair- nestled in the rough be-
way and over the stream hind the green after his
to the back rough. It was a third shot. Finau, No. 39 in
bold play that preceded a the standings, chipped
pair of meager efforts — a in for birdie and a 64 and
chip that came up 25 feet moved into the top 30.q
