Henrik Stenson wins Tour Championship, FedEx Cup with steady hand

ATLANTA – It got the tiniest bit hairy there for a second, but Henrik Stenson held on, as he’d done from Day 1 at the Tour Championship, to claim the richest prize in golf in the FedEx Cup. Stenson, who at one point on Saturday had a lead as high as nine strokes, saw his margin dwindle to but a single stroke late in the round Sunday, but managed to stay steady and win two fancy new trophies.

Stenson entered the day at -11, four strokes ahead of playing partner Dustin Johnson. And when Johnson birdied the third to close within three, it appeared the game was afoot. Indeed it was, but Johnson wouldn’t be involved.

Instead, it was rookie Jordan Spieth, continuing his dream season, who played absolutely out of his mind. Speith recorded seven birdies over 10 holes in the middle of the round, and when Stenson had trouble off the fairway on 14, Spieth was, for a moment, one stroke off the lead in the Tour Championship.

It wouldn’t last. Spieth bogeyed 17 at almost the exact moment Stenson birdied 15, and that was the margin of victory that would stand up. From there, it was a virtual victory lap for Stenson, made all the more smooth when Johnson triple-bogeyed 17. That mess came at the same time as Stenson crafted a perfect approach shot, one Johnny Miller in the booth called “absolutely flawless.” The cheers rang out over the 17th and 18th holes, and from there it was just a matter of playing out the string.

Stenson now sets himself up as one of the players to watch going into next year’s majors season. It’s a long haul until April, but Stenson has about ten million new ways to occupy his time until then.

Devil Ball Golf – Golf – Yahoo Sports