LA QUINTA, Calif. – Jason Dufner won the CareerBuilder Challenge with a par on the second hole of a playoff Sunday, taking advantage of David Lingmerth’s shot off the rocks that bounced into the water.

Dufner finished with a 2-under 70 on PGA West’s TPC Stadium Course to match Lingmerth at 25-under 263. Lingmerth shot a 65, matching the best score of the day on the difficult course that was used in the tournament for the first time since being dropped after its 1987 debut.

Dufner made two great par escapes to stay alive.

In regulation on the island-green 17th called Alcatraz, he pulled his 8-iron tee shot left and the ball bounced into a narrow sandy area between rocks that circle the putting surface. Maneuvering his club around the rocks, he hooded the clubface and hooked a chip that struck the flagstick and stopped inches away.

On the first extra hole on the par-4 18th with rocks and water running the length of the left side, Dufner hit his 3-wood drive near the lip in the front of a right-side bunker. Unable to reach the green, he blasted out 100 yards to set up a 110-yard third shot that he hit to 11 feet.

Lingmerth hit his approach from the right rough to 23 feet, but missed the birdie try. Dufner then holed his putt to send the playoff back to the 18th tee.

Dufner switched to a driver and followed Lingmerth into a grass bunker on the right side. Lingmerth’s approach from 184 yards crashed into the rocks along the edge of the fairway and shot left into the water.

Dufner hit the front of the green with his second shot and two-putted for par, holing a 5-footer after Lingmerth missed his par try from 22 feet.

The 38-year-old Dufner earned $1,044,000 for his fourth victory on the PGA Tour and first since the 2013 PGA Championship. He shot a 64 on Thursday on the Nicklaus Tournament Course for a share of the lead, had a 65 on Friday on the Stadium Course to take a one-shot advantage, and added a 64 on Saturday at La Quinta Country Club to pull two shots ahead.

Lingmerth also lost a playoff in the 2013 tournament on PGA West’s Palmer Private Course. That year, the Swede dropped out on first extra hole after hitting his approach into the water and making a bogey. Brian Gay went on to beat Charles Howell III with a birdie on the second hole.

Phil Mickelson shot a 68 to tie for third at 21 under in his first start since the Presidents Cup in October and first since splitting with swing coach Butch Harmon to work with Andrew Getson.

Kevin Na and Andrew Loupe also shot 68 to finish alongside Mickelson.

Canadian Adam Hadwin shared the lead with Dufner thru 9 holes Sunday, but went 2-over on the back nine to finish in a tie for 6th with Americans Luke List and and Jamie Lovemark at 20-under.

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.