Worldwide Golf

STEVE Stricker birdied the final two holes of the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston to win by one shot and elevate himself to a career-high of second place on the Official World Golf Ranking.

The American carded a 4-under-par 67 to beat Jason Dufner and Scott Verplank – both of whom had made late charges at the title. Verplank birdied the final four holes to card a 6-under 65 but it wasn’t to be as Stricker got up and down from 40 feet for birdie on the par-5 18^th to seal his third win of the season.

“Knowing I had to make a couple of birdies and actually doing it means a lot,” said Stricker, who now leads the FedExCup from Tiger Woods. “It was a tough day. There was a lot of guys in the mix, and I just found a way to get it done.”

Angel Cabrera, Dustin Johnson and Padraig Harrington finished two shots back in a share for fourth place.