GOLF DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP:CHARLEY HOFFMAN charged to a commanding five-stroke victory at the Deutsche Bank Championship yesterday morning, but it wasn't enough to earn a spot on the American Ryder Cup team.

Hoffman was a class apart as he compiled 11 birdies in a spectacular nine-under-par 62 at the Boston TPC, the day’s best score by three strokes.

He finished at 22-under 262, matching the tournament record low score, while Jason Day (71) bogeyed the last to fall back into a tie for second with compatriot Geoff Ogilvy (66) and Briton Luke Donald (69) at 17-under.

American Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin announced his four wild-card picks yesterday evening, but obviously didn’t put much stock in one great performance by a guy who arrived in Norton, Massachusetts ranked 132nd in the world.

The 33-year-old arrived with some solid form – three top-10s in his past five starts – but was not considered one of the favourites.

Hoffman started the final round four strokes behind overnight leader Day and demolished the star-studded field to claim just his second victory on the PGA Tour.

He jumps to second on the tour’s FedEx Cup points list with two of four play-off events completed.

“This is a very special day for me,” said the laid-back Californian, who said he didn’t know he was leading until he looked at a leaderboard at the 15th hole.

Asked whether this was the highlight of his career, Hoffman said: “It’s a no-brainer, best ever. To shoot 62 on a pretty tough course, it’s fun.”

“I had the best seat in the house,” said Ogilvy, who played alongside Hoffman. “He hit great shots all day, putted really well, and as soon as he got himself in trouble he’d hole a bunker shot or something like that. It was a pretty class act and he never looked like doing anything but winning after about three holes.”

Adam Scott, who finished tied for fifth, played in the pairing ahead of Hoffman, and waited to congratulate his former team -mate from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

“As much as I joke about all the bad stuff he made me do at college, he made me feel very comfortable, a 17-year-old kid from Australia moving to Vegas,” Scott said. “It’s good to see him playing up to the potential he has. He’s always been, in my mind, a great player. He can go low and I like that in a player.”

Woods remains the world’s top-ranked player after a final round 68 took him to 10-under par for the tournament and a tie for 11th place.

Phil Mickelson could have ended Woods’ 273-week reign as world number one by finishing fourth or higher.

Instead, he finished in a tie for 25th after two double bogeys on the last nine holes contributed to a final-round score of five-over-par 76. Woods climbed to 51 in the FedEx standings after entering the tournament at number 65. The top 70 after the Deutsche Bank go on to the third play-off event, the BMW Championship.

Woods must be among the top 30 after that to make the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta from September 23rd-26th.

“I’ve just got to keep playing well,” Woods said. “Winning takes care of everything – the world rankings, Player of the Year awards, all the trophies and things that come with it. That only happens when you win. Most of my career I’ve been able to do that and I just haven’t done it this year.”

The FedEx Cup goes to the top player after the four play-off tournaments and carries a $10 million (€7.9 million) bonus. Woods has won it twice in the past three years.

Final Round Scores

(USA unless stated, par 71)

262– C Hoffman 64 67 69 62.

267– L Donald (Eng) 65 67 66 69, G Ogilvy (Aus) 64 72 65 66, J Day (Aus) 63 67 66 71.

268– A Scott (Aus) 67 69 65 67, T Gillis 67 71 65 65, B Snedeker 66 64 67 71.

270– J Senden (Aus) 66 68 69 67.

271– S Stricker 65 68 67 71 272 DJ Trahan 64 69 69 70.

274– V Singh (Fij) 66 68 69 71, JB Holmes 66 71 69 68, T Woods 72 65 69 68, M Sim (Aus) 68 66 72 68, A Romero (Arg) 68 66 68 72, R Palmer 64 72 69 69, M Kuchar 66 65 72 71.

275– C Wi (Kor) 68 66 67 74, J Dufner 66 73 68 68, A Cabrera (Arg) 69 68 69 69, S Cink 68 66 72 69.

276– B Davis (Eng) 64 73 69 70, K Blanks 66 68 72 70, B Haas 66 73 69 68.

277– P Mickelson 69 65 67 76, R Goosen (Rsa) 67 69 71 70, B Van Pelt 70 70 68 69, M Laird (Sco) 66 69 74 68, P Casey (Eng) 66 72 71 68.

278– J Leonard 69 66 67 76, Z Johnson 63 71 71 73, E Els (Rsa) 70 67 70 71.

279– H Mahan 64 70 71 74, K Na 69 67 70 73, N Watney 69 72 70 68, M Jones (Aus) 65 70 73 71.

280– Rory McIlroy 64 76 69 71, F Jacobson (Swe) 65 76 69 70, J Furyk 66 73 71 70, B Watson 67 71 73 69.

281– S Marino 65 69 71 76, G Chalmers (Aus) 68 72 72 69, R Fowler 67 70 74 70, J Bohn 67 74 72 68.

282– B De Jonge 67 72 73 70, D Toms 67 71 75 69, K Streelman 69 70 73 70, J Rollins 66 70 67 79, R Allenby (Aus) 69 70 75 68, T Petrovic 68 71 71 72, KJ Choi (Kor) 69 71 72 70, I Poulter (Eng) 67 73 73 69, T Clark (Rsa) 69 72 71 70, YE Yang (Kor) 67 70 68 77, J Teater 68 70 75 69, S Ames (Can) 67 68 75 72.

283– D Johnson 73 68 69 73, R Barnes 68 71 74 70, R Imada (Jpn) 67 71 73 72, S Appleby (Aus) 70 71 72 70.

284– D Love III 71 69 71 73, M Leishman (Aus) 71 68 77 68, C Villegas (Col) 67 72 71 74, B Adams 70 68 70 76.

285– L Glover 70 68 72 75, H Slocum 68 72 74 71.

286– R Moore 64 76 70 76, C Howell III 68 70 77 71.

287– A Baddeley (Aus) 71 70 75 71.

290– P Goydos 68 73 75 74.

291– S Micheel 68 71 75 77.

WD – 219– Garrett Willis 70 71 78.