Australian Matt Jones' back nine collapse proved extremely costly as American Rickie Fowler claimed his third victory of the year at the $A12 million Deutsche Bank Championship.
The 35-year-old Sydneysider made two double bogeys and a bogey in three holes after turning for home at TPC Boston, his three-over-par 74 dropping him to a tie for fourth place.
It also cost him automatic selection on the International team for November's Presidents Cup clash with the United States as he was bumped out of the 10th berth by New Zealand's Danny Lee.
However, Jones stands a great chance of getting one of Nick Price's two captain's picks for the team after strong recent form.
And he can take comfort from rising from 57th to 33rd spot in the FedEx Cup points standings heading into the final two tournaments, giving him a big chance of making the top 30 who advance from the 70-man BMW Championship in Chicago to the Tour Championship finale.
Countryman Jason Day, who was hoping to secure the world No.1 ranking with victory in the tournament, shot a final round 69 to finish tied 12th, nine shots behind Fowler.
Day retains the lead in the overall FedExCup standings, with Jordan Spieth second and Fowler climbing to third with two events left.
Fowler continued to rub egg in the faces of peers who voted him the most over-rated player on tour at the start of the year.
Having won only once previously, the 26-year-old added the Deutsche Bank title to his Players Championship and Scottish Open wins earlier in the season and climbs to No.5 in the world rankings.
Trailing by three shots early on the back nine, Fowler rolled in a 40-foot putt on the 14th hole to pull within one and then seized control when overnight leader Henrik Stenson hit a towering tee shot that came down short and into the water for double bogey on the par-3 16th.
That combination sent Fowler to victory.
He closed with a three-under 68 for a one-shot win from former champion Stenson that assured him of a spot in the top five at the Tour Championship and a clear shot at the $US10 million ($A14.44 million) bonus in the FedEx Cup.
While not quite part of the "Big Three" this year of Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Day, he's on the cusp of it.
"They've clearly played the best out of anyone over the past few months to couple of years," Fowler said.
"So I'm trying to be a small fourth thrown in there. But there's a lot of other really good young players playing well right now, as well."
American Charley Hoffman carded a 67 to be third, three shots behind Stenson while Americans Jim Furyk, Patrick Reed, Hunter Mahan and Sean O'Hair tied with Jones for fourth.
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