Unheralded American Heath Slocum won the Barclays Classic by one stroke on Sunday after rolling in a 21-foot putt to save par at the last and finish ahead of four heavyweights, including Tiger Woods. The 197th-ranked Slocum, who holed out from 158 yards to eagle the 442-yard par-four fifth, posted a final-round 67 for a nine-under-par 275 total at Liberty National. “It was an incredible day, an incredible week,” Slocum told reporters. “The putt on the last was magical. I'll remember that for the rest of my life.” Tied for second on 276 were Woods, who shot a 67, triple major champions Ernie Els of South Africa (66) and Padraig Harrington of Ireland (67), and American Steve Stricker (69). Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson and American Nick Watney were tied for sixth on seven-under-par 277. Stricker came to the par-four 18th tied with playing partner Slocum on nine-under. Slocum hit his tee shot into a fairway bunker on the right, and Stricker landed in a bunker to the left. Both players blasted out into the fairway. Stricker stuck a 70-yard approach within 10 feet, but after Slocum drained his par putt, Stricker slid his putt by the left edge to miss out on a sudden-death playoff. Slocum, who ranked second-last among Barclays qualifiers at 124 on the FedExCup points list, won $1.35 million. The victory catapulted the 35-year-old Slocum, a two-time winner on the US Tour whose last victory came in 2005, into third place in the points standings behind Woods and Stricker going into next week's Deutsche Bank Championship near Boston. The round started with Americans Paul Goydos and Steve Marino sharing the lead, two strokes ahead of Jacobson and American Webb Simpson. Woods, Els and Harrington however surged in the final round as sunshine bathed the scenic, waterfront course for the first time this week. Woods burst into action after a three-putt bogey at the par-three fourth where his two-foot par putt caught the left edge and spun out of the hole. The world No. 1 birdied three of the next four holes to reach six under par. Two more late birdies put him in position to tie for the lead but his seven-foot birdie putt at the last missed. “It was a week that to miss as many putts as I did this week, to still have a chance on the last green with a putt, it goes to show you how good I am hitting it,” he told reporters. “I just need to make a few more putts.”
