NEW YORK – U.S. captain Tom Watson went with experience and a gut feeling Tuesday night when he filled out his Ryder Cup team with Keegan Bradley, Hunter Mahan and Webb Simpson.

Not so valuable was recent success. He left out Chris Kirk, who finished higher in the final Ryder Cup standings than Simpson, and who won the Deutsche Bank Championship a day earlier by going head-to-head with Rory McIlroy the final 36 holes.

“That was a snapshot,” Watson said of his decision not to take Kirk.

The other two choices were not surprising. Even though Bradley has not won a tournament in two years and missed out by three spots qualifying on his own, he has raw power suited for this event and won all three matches in a partnership with Phil Mickelson two years ago at Medinah.

Mahan is the only pick who has been on a winning team, though he is associated more with the wrenching emotion that losing brings. Mahan was in the decisive match four years ago at Wales when Graeme McDowell made all the right shots in another European victory.

Mahan was left off the 2012 team, even though he narrowly missed qualifying.

Whomever he chose, Watson’s message was clear. The Ryder Cup, to be played Sept. 26-28 at Gleneagles, is all about redemption.

The Americans were poised to win at Medinah two years ago when they took a 10-6 lead into the final day, only for Ian Poulter, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer to deliver key putts and big comebacks that allowed Europe to retain the cup.

Europe has won seven of the last nine times, and it will be heavily favored in Scotland.

Earlier Tuesday, at the European Tour headquarters in Wentworth, captain Paul McGinley selected Poulter, Lee Westwood and Stephen Gallacher, who will be 39 when he makes his Ryder Cup debut in his home country.

Bradley said last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship there wasn’t a moment that he was not thinking about the Ryder Cup. He feared being left off the team when he finished his round on Monday, and shared an emotional hug with his girlfriend when Watson gave him the good news.

“I made no secret how badly I want to go back and win the Ryder Cup,” he said. “This is a redemption year for a lot of guys who were on the team last year.”

Bradley and Simpson are among seven players who were on that U.S. team that was on the losing end of the “Miracle at Medinah.” The others are Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson.

The U.S. captain will be 65 when he leads his team, the oldest captain in history. Watson last was at the helm in 1993 at The Belfry, which also is the last time the Americans won the Ryder Cup in Europe.

He said Bradley and Mickelson likely will play together, as will Simpson and two-time Masters champion Watson. The captain said he was leaning toward a couple of players Monday night, but went with his instincts in taking Simpson. He said he looked at the 2012 results and saw a pair of 5-and-4 victories by Simpson and Watson during team matches. In the Sunday singles, Poulter won the last two holes for a 2-up victory over Simpson.

As for Kirk, he might as well keep those tickets for the Tennessee-Georgia game on Sept. 27. Even after winning a FedEx Cup playoff event for the biggest title of his career, Kirk said he was not entitled to a pick because he didn’t earn his spot on the team. Watson loved the attitude. He just went with Simpson, instead.

Simpson is No. 32 in the world, the lowest-ranked player on the U.S. team.

He tied for ninth at the Deutsche Bank Championship, and knew it might be tough when Kirk won the tournament.

“It was a big win for him. I knew it was going to be a difficult decision,” Simpson said. “But I knew a good, solid week would make it tough for the captain not to pick me.”

Mahan was a popular pick after his victory at The Barclays against one of the strongest fields of the year.

Furyk, Mahan and Mickelson are the only Americans on the team who know what it’s like to celebrate a victory. They all played on Paul Azinger’s team at Valhalla in 2008, while Furyk and Mickelson were part of the Great American Comeback at Brookline in 1999.

Mahan knows better than most what it’s like to lose. The 2010 matches came down to the final game, and McDowell went 2-up with a birdie on the 16th hole. Mahan stubbed a chip short of the 17th green that all but secured a European victory, and it seemed to him as though all of Wales stormed across the green when it was over.

“Losing lingers,” he said. “It’s been four years, but it feels like yesterday. I remember walking off the green and everyone was having a big party, and I felt like I was walking by myself for 600 yards to the clubhouse.”

NORTON, Mass. – Chris Kirk made three big putts and captured the biggest win of his career Monday in the Deutsche Bank Championship. Whether that was enough for U.S. captain Tom Watson to add him to the Ryder Cup team was the least of his concerns.

Kirk won for the second time this season. He went the last 37 holes at the TPC Boston without a bogey. He played the final two rounds with Rory McIlroy and outplayed the No. 1 player in the world. And he closed with a 5-under 66 for a two-shot victory in a FedEx Cup playoff event.

Was it enough to convince Watson that he was worthy of a captain’s pick?

“I certainly don’t feel entitled, or feel like I’m a shoe-in to get a pick,” Kirk said. “I’ve obviously really put myself into consideration, and it’s something that I would love to do. But like I’ve said before, the nine guys that made it are automatic. Those are the guys on the team. The other three? If you get in, it’s a bonus.”

Then he looked at the blue trophy next to him and considered what he had just achieved.

“Winning the Deutsche Bank and going to No. 1 in the FedEx Cup, and $1.4 million, that’s plenty for me for one day,” he said with a smile.

Watson announces his selections Tuesday evening in New York.

Ten shots behind after the opening round, Kirk was so disgusted that he skipped his usual practice session. He was flawless the rest of the week, particularly on Monday in another wild Labor Day finish at the TPC Boston.

Kirk made three big putts on the back nine – two of them for birdie – but what pleased him the most was his 15-foot putt for par on the 15th hole that kept him in the lead.

Billy Horschel had a chance to at least force a playoff – and possibly win – when he stood in the fairway on the par-5 18th hole with a 6-iron in his hand. Horschel chunked the shot so badly that it barely reached the hazard, and he made bogey for a 69.

“The worst swing I’ve made all week,” Horschel said.

Horschel tied for second with 54-hole leader Russell Henley (70) and Geoff Ogilvy, who extended his unlikely run through these FedEx Cup playoffs. Ogilvy was the last of the 100 qualifiers for the Deutsche Bank Championship. He went 65-65 on the weekend without a bogey.

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, and now stands a reasonable chance of getting to the Tour Championship for the top 30.

Kirk won for the third time in his career, though never against a field this strong, and never with this much riding on it.

He was No. 14 in the Ryder Cup standings, five spots away from being an automatic qualifier. This victory could go a long way toward Watson using one of his three selections on the 29-year-old from Georgia. Last week, Hunter Mahan bolstered his Ryder Cup case by winning The Barclays.

Kirk was trying not to think about that, saying he already had plans to be at the Georgia-Tennessee game the weekend (Sept. 26-28) of the Ryder Cup. But he would gladly break those plans for a trip to Scotland for golf’s version of the Super Bowl.

“I would absolutely love to do it, but I’m not going to really base how happy I am with how I’m playing, or how my year has gone, on whether I make the team or not,” Kirk said.

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 out of the mix by missing two short par putts early on the back nine.

He closed with a 70 and tied for fifth with John Senden (66).

Kirk took the outright lead for the first time with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole. And right when it looked as if he was struggling with his swing, he saved par from a bunker with a 15-foot putt on the 15th. On the next hole, he made a birdie putt from just over 12 feet that gave him a two-shot lead.

Kirk, who finished at 15-under 269, failed to make birdie on a par 5 in the final round. He made a weak attempt on his 8-foot birdie try on the 18th.

That left it to Horschel, in prime position for at least a birdie.

“When Chris missed his birdie, I thought I was going to hit it on the green. I thought I was going to make the putt and make the eagle and win it outright,” Horschel said. “But it just wasn’t my day, I guess, to hit that bad of a shot.”

A small consolation for Horschel was going from No. 82 in the FedEx Cup to No. 20, all but assuring a spot in the Tour Championship.

Six players moved into the top 70, though none was more surprising than Ogilvy. He became the first player in four years to go from No. 100 to the third playoff event.

On the Canadian front, David Hearn finished tied for 43rd at 3-under 281. Unfortunately, the result wasn’t good enough to get the Brantford, Ont. native into the FedEx Cup top 70 and advance to the next week’s BMW Championship.

End of one chapter, beginning of a new one #2015

— David Hearn (@HearnDavid) September 1, 2014

 

Weyburn, Sask.’s Graham Delaet finished behind Hearn at the Deutsche Bank – tied for 50th at 1-under 283 – but will finish the week 43rd on the FedEx Cup standings which will see him safety move on to next week.

NORTON, Mass. – Russell Henley doesn’t get into contention as much as he’d like, though he is tough to beat when he’s anywhere near the lead.

Rory McIlroy seems to be there all the time.

They were among a host of contenders Sunday at the Deutsche Bank Championship, setting up the second straight week in the FedEx Cup playoffs that the final round resembles more like a free-for-all.

The difference at the TPC Boston is the presence of McIlroy so high on the leaderboard.

Henley ran off five birdies in a seven-hole stretch around the turn on his way to a 6-under 65, giving him a one-shot lead over Billy Horschel going into a Labor Day finish loaded with possibilities.

Ten players were separated by four shots. Six of them already have won on the PGA Tour this season.

And one of them – McIlroy – has won the biggest events.

McIlroy was dialed in with his swing and shot a 7-under 64 to get within two shots of the lead. He played with Chris Kirk, who also shot a 64 with birdies on his last two holes – a chip-in for birdie on a shot that would have gone 10 feet by the hole had it not banged into the pin, and an eagle putt that stopped an inch short on the 18th.

“I’ve been in this position quite a lot recently,” McIlroy said. “So I know how it’s going to feel tomorrow.”

Henley was at 12-under 201. He will play in the final group with Horschel, who birdied his last three holes for a 67.

Henley can look as good as anyone, and then he can disappear. He won the Sony Open last year in his first PGA Tour event as a rookie last year, and never seriously contended again. He won the Honda Classic in March in a four-man playoff that included McIlroy, and since then has missed eight cuts and has only two finishes in the top 20.

“I think I’m just still figuring it all out,” Henley said. “I feel like I’ve been working really hard on my ball-striking to keep the ball more in front of me. I always feel pretty good with my putter. The other thing I have to work on is my attitude, and not be so hard on myself.”

Jason Day, who started Sunday tied with Ryan Palmer, reached 12 under with a short birdie putt on the 13th hole. But he missed a short par putt on the 14th and hooked his tee shot into high grass and had to pitch out, leading to another bogey on the 15th. Day also failed to birdie the par-5 18th and shot 69.

Palmer took bogey on two of the par 5s and shot 71 to fall four shots behind.

McIlroy won the British Open, a World Golf Championship and the PGA Championship to assert himself at No. 1 in the world. He is coming off a pedestrian week at The Barclays – at least by his standards – where he started with a 74 and could never catch up.

So a round like 64 didn’t surprise him.

“It feels normal,” McIlroy said. “It feels like it’s what I’m supposed to do. It’s my job to go out there and shoot good scores. I’m not getting too excited about it. I’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow if I want to win this tournament.”

Henley is one round away at securing his spot in the Tour Championship, and perhaps giving U.S. captain Tom Watson one more person to consider for a Ryder Cup picks. But that one round seems far away considering the leaderboard, especially with McIlroy.

“He’s obviously a tough guy to beat,” Henley said. “But like I said, there’s a lot of tough guys to beat. Rory has had a heck of a run and I’m sure he’ll continue that.”

Horschel is at No. 82 in the FedEx Cup and came to the Deutsche Bank hopeful of moving into the top 70 to advance to the BMW Championship next week. Now he’s in the final group and adjusting his goals. He emerged late with a tap-in birdie at the 16th, a tough 12-footer on the 17th and a wedge to 5 feet on the final hole.

Webb Simpson, among those under Ryder Cup consideration, overcame a double bogey to post a 68 and was three shots behind. Keegan Bradley also is in the hunt for one of the three captain’s picks. He made only two birdies on a soft day for scoring and had a 69, leaving him four shots behind.

DIVOTS: Geoff Ogilvy shot 29 on the back for a 65 and was tied for 11th. He would need somewhere around eighth place to advance to the next FedEx Cup playoff event. One week ago, Ogilvy figured he was done for the year until Troy Merritt made bogey on the final hole at The Barclays. Ogilvy was the last player to qualify for the Deutsche Bank Championship. … Patrick Reed started the third round two shots out of the lead. He made four double bogeys on the back nine for an 82 and was among seven players who missed the 54-hole cut. That group included Matt Every, who shot an 86. … Phil Mickelson had a 72 and remains on the bubble for advancing next week to Cherry Hills, where he won the 1990 U.S. Amateur. Canada’s Graham DeLaet is tied for 40th at 1-under 212.

NORTON, Mass. – With an orange ribbon on his hat and nine birdies on his card, Matt Kuchar pulled within a shot of the lead Saturday in the Deutsche Bank Championship. Not that he needed a reminder, but a message posted on the scoring table spoke to the emotions involved in this tournament.

Players were offered a chance to donate to a trust fund for the 4-year-old daughter of Lance Bennett, his caddie. Bennett’s wife, Angela, died of a seizure Wednesday. Kuchar decided to play to raise awareness and get the tour involved in helping the family.

His performance certainly helped.

Ryan Palmer overcame a rocky start for an even-par 71. Jason Day struggled at the end for a 68. They were tied for the lead on the TPC Boston going into the third round of a FedEx Cup playoff event that ends on Labor Day.

Kuchar was a shot behind after a 66 that featured six consecutive birdies around the turn.

“You never know how things will work out in the game of golf,” Kuchar said. “But it felt like there’s some fate working, as well. The funeral is coming up and some things that will be difficult. But right now, I feel like there’s some inspiration and some fate working.”

On his bag is Brian Reed, a longtime friend who introduced Kuchar to Bennett several years ago.

Kuchar was overcome by emotion Friday when he saw caddies – and even some players – wearing a black hat with the orange ribbon in honor of Bennett’s wife. There were times he had a hard time taking the club back.

Saturday was easier, which he attributes to the natural progression of grief.

“Still felt like Angela was on my mind almost every hole, every shot,” Kuchar said.

The next few days might not be easy for anyone. The TPC Boston has a history of yielding low scores. Henrik Stenson won a year ago at 22-under 262, and the worst winning score since it became a FedEx Cup playoff event was 15-under 269.

That seems far off given these conditions – swirling wind and fast greens that get bumpier in the afternoon.

Palmer, who started with a 63, made birdie on his first hole and thought he was off to the races. He followed with a double bogey, a bogey and then tried to hang. A birdie on the final hole put him at 8-under 134.

“It could have gone the other way real quick,” Palmer said. “I was glad to get that last birdie on 18 and salvage even (par).”

Day, who shared the 54-hole lead last week at The Barclays, looked as though he might pull away. Day ran off five birdies on the front nine for a 31 to build a two-shot lead, only to drop four shots coming in. He caught a flyer on No. 12 that went over the green into a hazard, played a low chip through thick rough and made a big bogey putt.

He still had the lead when he went from the green in two on the par-5 18th. The ball went long, and he hit a flop out of thick rough that ran through the green and into the bunker, leading to his third birdie of the back nine.

Even so, he was atop the leaderboard in another playoff event. He has adjusted to a weaker grip to protect from injuring his thumb again. And his confidence is growing.

So is his respect for the TPC Boston.

“You get yourself above the trees, it can be very difficult to judge how much wind there is,” he said. “And if you get too far below the trees, it doesn’t get hit by the wind at all. It played tough today. I played good on the front nine, played kind of average on the back nine. But I got it in.”

Billy Horschel had a 66 and joined Kuchar at 7-under 135.

A trio of players hopeful of a Ryder Cup pick on Tuesday – Bill Haas, Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson – were among those at 6 under. U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer had a 66 and joined the group at 5 under that included Jordan Spieth.

Rory McIlroy had a double bogey late in his round that slowed his momentum. He had a 69 and was five shots behind. Phil Mickelson is still playing, and looking better to play next week, too. Mickelson had a 69 and easily made the cup at 1-over 145.

The top 70 in the FedEx Cup move on to Cherry Hills in Denver next week for the third playoff event.

But Mickelson’s work is not over. Because 80 players made the cut at 3-over 145, there will be a 54-hole cut Sunday. It will be the second straight week for a secondary cut. That has happened only two previous times in six years during the playoffs, and Mickelson has missed out both times.

NORTON, Mass. – Ryan Palmer has felt all year that something special was going to happen. For now, he’ll take his lowest round of the season.

Palmer took only 21 putts and made birdie on half of his holes Friday on the TPC Boston, giving him an 8-under 63 and a two-shot lead over Keegan Bradley after the opening round of the Deutsche Bank Championship.

“It was one of my best ones of the year, for sure,” Palmer said.

He didn’t miss a putt inside 15 feet and closed out his round with a pitching wedge to 18 feet, making the downhill putt for his ninth birdie.

Bradley matched his low round of the season, though what meant more was the timing. This is the final week before U.S. captain Tom Watson decides which three players he will pick to fill out his Ryder Cup team. Bradley always seemed like a logical choice, though he wants to leave nothing to chance.

He played bogey-free in a gentle breeze, and it was just the start he needed.

“I’m not going to sit up here and say any cliches that I’m not thinking about the Ryder Cup or any of that,” Bradley said. “I am very aware every second of the day that I’m being watched by the captain. And I’m just trying to embrace that be aware of it and enjoy it if I can.”

Webb Simpson, who also needs a pick to return to the Ryder Cup, and Jason Day of Australia were among those at 66.

Jordan Spieth recovered from a double bogey to start his round and, with his entire family in tow, turned it around with four birdies and an eagle for a 67. Also at 67 was Ian Poulter, who seems certain to be a Ryder Cup pick for Europe on Tuesday considering how much damage he’s done to the Americans in the competition. Poulter was thinking only about his golf, which hasn’t been very good this year.

“I just want to play golf,” Poulter said. “It’s been a (bad) year, and I want to turn it around right now.”

Rory McIlroy was brilliant at times and sloppy at other times in his round of 70.

Brantford, Ont.’s David Hearn opened with a 1-under 70 and is tied for 26th, while Weyburn, Sask.’s Graham DeLaet is tied for 29th after an even-par 71 Friday.

Phil Mickelson had a 74. He wasn’t sure what to expect and even Lefty had to be surprised by his card that featured six pars, six birdies, four bogeys, a double bogey and a triple bogey.

“I said it would be feast or famine,” Mickelson said. “I was hoping it would be Stableford. If it was Stableford, I’d be right in it.”

Instead, he needs a good round Saturday to make sure he stays in the top 70 in the FedEx Cup to advance next week to the third playoff event in Denver.

For two weeks – especially this one – the FedEx Cup shares the stage for that other cup. So many players are thinking less about the chase for a $10 million bonus, and more about a chance to play a tournament where they don’t get paid at all.

Watson and European captain Paul McGinley announce their three picks Tuesday. This is the final qualifying week for Europe, though only the players competing in Italy this week can affect the standings.

Palmer finished No. 18 in the Ryder Cup standings. His name hasn’t been mentioned as prominently as others bidding for captain’s pick. But he looked plenty good Friday.

“I keep telling myself something is going to happen. I don’t know where or when,” Palmer said. “My game has been in good shape. It was a matter of getting it all together.”

His regular caddie, James Edmondson, didn’t make the trip. Edmondson is close friends with Lance Bennett, who works for Matt Kuchar. Bennett’s wife died of a seizure Tuesday in Dallas, and caddies and some players wore a black hat with an orange ribbon as a tribute to Angela Bennett. The couple has a 4-year-old daughter.

“When he said, `I may need to stay home,’ I said, `Done. Don’t worry about. We’re just playing golf,'” Palmer said.

Bradley won all three of his matches with Mickelson in the last Ryder Cup at Medinah and is desperate to be on the American team that will try to win the cup back on Sept. 26-28 at Gleneagles in Scotland. And he’s not shy about saying so.

“When I wake up, I’m thinking about it. When I’m on the course, I’m thinking about it,” he said.

Bradley was never in big trouble. He drove it long and straight, and that goes a long way on the TPC Boston. Bradley played with Mickelson in three matches at Medinah in the last Ryder Cup, and they never lost. Bradley also played a practice round at Gleneagles with Watson before the British Open.

“I think if I go out and shoot good scores, yeah, I think I’m in good shape,” Bradley said. “But there’s so many great players that aren’t on this team. I don’t take anything for granted. I don’t think I’m a lock by any means.”

CALGARY – Calgary’s Stephen Ames was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame on Tuesday at the Shaw Charity Classic – an event he is a founding partner of.

“It’s hitting home a little bit now for me. It is a real honour,” said Ames. “It’s the highlight of my career right now, an added trophy to the career that I’ve had, which is wonderful. At this stage right now, it’s something to relish.”

Ames, a dual citizen of Canada as well as Trinidad and Tobago is a four-time winner on the PGA Tour. With his induction in the player category, Ames becomes the 74th honoured member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.

“The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame seeks to recognize excellence as golfers, contributors and supporters of the game,” said Ian Clarke, Chair of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame Selection Committee. “Stephen Ames has excelled on the biggest stage in our sport and it is fitting that he will be recognized for his respective accomplishments.”

Ames, 50, enters the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame as a prominent professional player, having amassed four PGA Tour victories and over $19.7 million in career earnings. In 2006, Ames captured one of the Tour’s marquee events, winning The Players Championship by six strokes over Retief Goosen. His victory at TPC Sawgrass was played against 48 of the top 50 players in the world and vaulted him at that time to No. 27 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

In 2013, the Stephen Ames Foundation funded the inaugural CJGA Stephen Ames Junior Cup presented by RBC at the Country Club of the Hamptons in Calgary. Since 2005, Ames has proudly hosted the Stephen Ames Cup, a Ryder Cup style tournament featuring a team of Canadian junior players versus Team Trinidad & Tobago. In addition, the Stephen Ames Foundation provides funding for junior golf programs and other children’s initiatives in Canada and Trinidad and Tobago.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Liberty National will host the 2017 Presidents Cup as part of a 25-year partnership with the PGA Tour.

Liberty National has hosted The Barclays – the opening FedEx Cup playoff event – in 2009 and 2013. The partnership announced Tuesday means the tour will bring up to 10 more tournaments to the course that was built on a former landfill and is across from the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan.

Course founders Paul Fireman and Dan Fireman also say they are donating $5 million to The First Tee, the tour’s national education program for youngsters.

The announcement means the New York area will get the Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup in a seven-year span. The Ryder Cup is to be played at Bethpage Black on Long Island in 2024.

PARAMUS, N.J. – Tiger Woods is leaving swing coach Sean Foley after four years and no majors.

Woods said on his website Monday he will no longer work with Foley, the Canadian whom he hired when his game was at its low point following the upheaval with his marriage. The announcement came one day after another Foley pupil, Hunter Mahan, won The Barclays.

“I’d like to thank Sean for his help as my coach and for his friendship,” Woods said. “Sean is one of the outstanding coaches in golf today, and I know he will continue to be successful with the players working with him.”

Woods has been coping with back problems for more than a year. He had surgery March 31 to alleviate a pinched nerve, forcing him to miss two majors during his three months of recovery. He missed two cuts, withdrew from another tournament and had his worst 72-hole finish in a major after returning.

He is taking three months off in a bid to regain his full strength, and said this would be the right time to dismiss Foley. Woods is not scheduled to play again until his World Challenge in Orlando, Florida, the first week in December.

He does not have a coach and said there was no timetable to hire one.

“My time spent with Tiger is one of the highlights of my career so far, and I am appreciative of the many experiences we shared together,” Foley said in a statement posted on Woods’ website.

Foley was the third coach Woods hired as a professional.

Woods began working with Butch Harmon as a teenager, and they changed his swing twice. The biggest overhaul was after Woods won the Masters by 12 shots. Many believe the new swing produced Woods’ most dominant golf, though he also was in his early 20s and had not had serious issues with his knee. Woods won eight majors while with Harmon, including seven in 11 attempts and an unprecedented sweep of them in 2000-01. They parted in 2003.

Woods went to Hank Haney and produced another memorable stretch with an entirely different swing. In a two-year period covering 34 tournaments, Woods won 18 times (including four majors) and was runner-up six times. That ended with the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, right before his fourth and most invasive knee surgery.

That was his 14th major, and Woods has not won another since. He remains four short of the record held by Jack Nicklaus.

Haney announced in May he was leaving Woods, although those close to Woods felt a split was imminent. Woods went through most of 2010 without a coach until hooking up with Foley for the first time at the PGA Championship in 2010 at Whistling Straits.

Woods won three times on the PGA Tour in 2012, and then delivered a five-win season in 2013 when he returned to No. 1. But he rarely challenged in the majors, some of that because of injury.

He missed two majors in 2011 while letting leg injuries fully heal. Woods had a share of the 36-hole lead in the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in 2012, but he was not a factor on Sunday. He was two shots off the lead going into the final round of the 2013 British Open and fell back quickly.

He missed two more majors this year because of injury.

Foley, who first worked with Stephen Ames, has Mahan and former U.S. Open champion Justin Rose among his clients.

“It was a lifelong ambition of mine to teach the best player of all time in our sport,” Foley said. “I am both grateful for the things we had the opportunity to learn from one another, as well as the enduring friendship we have built. I have nothing but respect and admiration for him.”

PORTLAND, Ore. – The final putt dropped at the inaugural WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft and the first 25 of 50 PGA Tour cards available via the Web.com Tour were handed out.

Among the first group of 2014 graduates are Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C. and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., who finished fourth and 24th respectively.

Carlos Ortiz, who has held the top spot since mid-April, won the Regular Season finale Sunday to finish No. 1. His third win earns him fully-exempt status on the PGA Tour in 2014-2015 and enter the finals as No. 1 on the money list.

An additional 25 cards will be on-the-line at the four-event series, which begin Thursday with the Hotel Fitness Championship in Fort Wayne, Ind. These 25 cards will be based on money earned in the Finals.

The 50 card earners will join the PGA Tour for the 2014-15 season, which begins in October.

For details on how the Web.com Finals work, click here.

Here is a full list of the 75 players headed to the Web.com Finals.

PARAMUS, N.J.  – Hunter Mahan pulled away with three straight birdies late in the final round Sunday to win The Barclays, ending more than two years without a title on the PGA Tour.

The victory was the sixth of his career, and one of the most important.

Mahan had gone 48 tournaments worldwide without winning and began the FedEx Cup playoffs at No. 62, guaranteed to play only two events. By closing with a 6-under 65 for a two-shot victory, he is assured of making the Tour Championship every year since the FedEx Cup began in 2007.

And by beating one of the strongest fields of the year, Mahan was sure to make a lasting impression on Tom Watson for when he makes his three captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup on Sept. 2.

“To get a win in an event like this and the timing, it feels unbelievable,” Mahan said. “So I’m extremely proud of myself. I felt great the last few weeks. My game was starting to come around. I knew this was around the corner, but to do it – and to do it today with a 65 – feels great.”

On a day when six players had at least a share of the lead, Mahan found a way to make it look like a comfortable win.

He rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt to take the outright lead on the par-3 15th, hit wedge to 3 feet for a birdie on the 16th and then rolled in a 20-foot birdie on the par-5 17th. That stretched his lead to three shots going to the final hole when Cameron Tringale bogeyed the 18th, and Mahan tried to inject a little drama.

Mahan drove into the trees, pitched out and then missed the green. But he holed an 8-foot putt for bogey.

Jason Day, who shared the 54-hole lead with Jim Furyk, would have needed to hole out from the rough on the 18th to force a playoff and he missed the green. Day closed with a 68 and shared second place with Stuart Appleby (65) and Tringale, who celebrated his 27th birthday with a 66.

Furyk now has failed to win the last eight times he has held at least a share of the lead going into the final round. He was in the mix until missing the fairway on the 14th and taking bogey, and he wound up with a 70 to finish in eighth place, four shots behind.

Tringale began the week with questions about disqualifying himself from the PGA Championship several days after the final major ended. He said he had doubts about whether he whiffed a tap-in for bogey and thus signed for a wrong score. He said he wanted a clear conscience.

“Didn’t expect it to be this clear,” Tringale said with a smile.

This was the best finish of his career, and as a byproduct of these FedEx Cup playoffs, it paid off nearly as well as a victory. Tringale, who was No. 61 in the standings, moved all the way up to No. 10 and is virtually certain of being in the FedEx Cup finale at the Tour Championship. That earns him automatic entry into at least three majors, including his first trip to the Masters.

The top 100 players in the FedEx Cup standings advance to the second playoff event next week outside Boston. Seven players outside the top 100 at the start of the week qualified for the Deutsche Bank Championship, including Morgan Hoffmann at No. 124. Hoffman, who grew up minutes away from Ridgewood, played with Mahan and shot 69 to tie for ninth.

Geoff Ogilvy earned the 100th spot, only it wasn’t in his hands. Ogilvy missed the cut, and his chances came down to Brendon Todd, who made a 15-foot par putt on the last hole to allow Ogilvy to advance by two points. If Todd had missed the putt, Troy Merritt would have been at No. 100 by about a half-point.

Mahan last won in the Shell Houston Open in 2012, a week before the Masters. But his game slipped the rest of the year. He narrowly missed qualifying for the Ryder Cup team and was passed over as a captain’s pick. Just over a year ago, Mahan had the 36-hole lead at the RBC Canadian Open when he withdrew shortly before the third round upon learning his wife had gone into labor with their first child.

To his surprise, his wife and 1-year-old daughter Zoe were waiting for him when he walked off the 18th green as a winner.

Mahan finished at 14-under 270 and earned $1.44 million. He moved to No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings, assured of being among the top five players at East Lake with the best shot at capturing the $10 million bonus.

British Open and PGA champion Rory McIlroy, going after his fourth straight victory, closed with a 70 and tied for 22nd.

Canada’s David Hearn end the tournament tied for 38th after shooting 71 the final day.