Stricker rallies to win at Barclays Classic

2007-08-26

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HARRISON, NEW YORK (TICKER) -- Steve Stricker turned it on when it mattered most.

Stricker birdied four of the final five holes to post a two-stroke victory at the $7 million Barclays Classic on Sunday.

Stricker, who carded a 2-under 69 on Sunday and finished the tournament at 16-under-par 268, took home a check for $1.26 million.

"I've been waiting for this day for a long time," the emotional Stricker said.

How long? Well, it was 6 1/2 years and 146 tournaments since Stricker was victorious at the 2001 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in Australia.

"I've worked - I mean, every player out here wants to do this, wants to win. That's what we are all out here to do," Stricker said of his fourth PGA title. "You don't get in position that many times, and when you do, it's tough to pull it off.

"So I was just happy that it worked out my way this time at the end, and I pulled one off."

K.J. Choi closed with a 70 and finished alone in second place at 270, one shot ahead of Rory Sabbatini (68) at Westchester County Club's West Course.

While he didn't win, Choi remained upbeat with the result.

"You know, just coming in in second place in the first FedEx Cup playoff tournament is very meaningful for me," the Korean said. "I'm going to take this as a good experience and then, obviously, try to do my best in the next three tournaments."

The Barclays Classic is the first leg of the inaugural FedEx Cup playoff series. The other tournaments in the playoff series are the Deutsche Bank Championship, the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship.

Stricker now opens up a 2,050-point lead over Choi, while Sabbatini moves up to third place in the playoff race.

Tiger Woods, who cited fatigue for not playing in the tournament, fell to fourth place, nearly 5,000 points behind Stricker.

There is plenty of incentive since a $10 million bonus will be awarded to the points leader of the series played over four straight weeks, ending with the Tour Championship in Atlanta.