OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Clutch down the stretch and for six dynamic playoff holes, Patrick Cantlay put a fitting end to an epic battle with Bryson DeChambeau by making an 18-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the BMW Championship on Sunday.
DeChambeau missed four birdie putts to win in regulation and in the playoff. Then he missed the most important putt of the week from just inside 10 feet to extend the playoff.
Cantlay made putts from 8 feet for par, 8 feet for bogey and 20 feet for birdie on the final three holes of regulation for a 6-under 66, the last one to force a playoff. He holed par putts of 6 feet and 7 feet on the 18th hole in the playoff.
The last one gave him the victory, his PGA Tour-leading third of the season. Not only did it move him to the top of the FedEx Cup standings, the victory gave Cantlay the sixth and final automatic spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
Cantlay now starts the Tour Championship with a two-shot lead based on his standing as the race concludes for the $15 million prize.
DeChambeau also closed with a 66. They finished at 27-under 261.
Sungjae Im birdied his last two holes for a 67 to finish alone in third, four shots behind. Rory McIlroy closed with a 67 to finish fourth.
Erik van Rooyen of South Africa closed with a 65 to move into the top 30 who go to the Tour Championship. Sergio Garcia is headed back to East Lake for he first time since 2017, tying for sixth place to slide into the top 30. Max Homa and Charley Hoffman were bumped out.
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Joe Durant made a 5-foot bogey putt on the par-4 18th for a one-stroke victory over Bernhard Langer in The Ally Challenge at Grand Blanc, Michigan.
Durant, 57, closed with a 4-under 68 to finish at 17-under 199 at Warwick Hills. He won for the fourth time on the PGA Tour Champions after winning four times on the PGA Tour.
Langer parred the 18th, hitting into two bunkers, in a 70.
EUROPEAN TOUR: Rasmus Højgaard fired a 7-under round of 63 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, to win the European Masters by one stroke over Bernd Wiesberger, who made double bogey at the 18th after hitting into green-side water.
Wiesberger, who is on the fringes of selection for Europe’s Ryder Cup team next month, hit his tee shot at the par-4 18th into a bunker then found water with his second shot.
The Austrian player took a six and carded a 65 to fall into second place in the tournament at the high-altitude Crans-sur-Sierre club.
Højgaard, 20, finished with a 13-under total of 267 that held up for his third victory on the European Tour. He played the last six holes in 5 under and made a 5-foot birdie putt at the 18th.
Henrik Stenson shot a 63, with seven birdies in the sun-bathed Swiss Alps, to move up to third place at 11 under.
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