[caption id="attachment_66509" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Graeme McDowell, left, and Padraig Harrington. "]
Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell are still alive in the FedEx Cup chase after playing in The Barclays at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, N.J. The top 125 on the FedEx Cup points list qualified for The Barclays, which Harrington won several years ago in its pre-FedEx Cup incarnation, when it was played at the Westchester Country Club. The top 100 remaining golfers continue on to this week's Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston in Norton, Mass.
Harrington had his best finish in some time, working out a tie for 13th place in the rain-shortened event. Plainfield was serving up low scores and Harrington went on a tear in the second round, when he went out in 31, having posted five birdies against just one bogey. The par-4 13th hole proved problematic, as he bogeyed it on each of his three passes.
A 7-stroke gap divided Harrington and Dustin Johnson, the medalist, who shot 194. Harrington, who has broken 70 in seven consecutive rounds, shot 201 (65-67-69).
McDowell, who has been plagued by erratic play since the spring, finished the first round with 72, and then went out and shot 65 (30 on the front nine) in the second round (bettered by only four players) to make the cut by two strokes. He closed with 68 and got a share of 43rd place at 205.
Harrington and McDowell currently stand 80th and 84th, respectively, on the FedEx Cup points list. The top 70 after Boston will move on to Cog Hill in Lemont, Ill. for the BMW Championship.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Peter Lawrie again wilted in the late stages, dropping to a share of 15th place in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, Scotland. Just one stroke off the lead after 36 holes, Lawrie shot 71 and 74 over the weekend to finish 5 strokes behind the quintet that moved into a playoff for championship honors. Thomas Bjorn prevailed on the fifth extra hole.
Lawrie went the wrong way early during Sunday's final round. Bogeys at the first and third holes, followed by a double bogey at the fifth, spelled the end of his title hopes. He shot 6-under-par 282 (68-69-71-74).
Behind Lawrie came Damien McGrane, in joint 31st place at 286 (69-73-73-71), Simon Thornton, tied for 38th place at 287 (70-74-71-72), and Michael Hoey, in joint 52nd place at 289 (73-71-75-70).
Shane Lowry missed the cut by one stroke, shooting 145 (72-73) for 36 holes. Paul McGinley had a horrid time with the front nine in Friday's second round, hitting the turn seven strokes over par for the round. He finished the day with 80, which, coupled with Thursday's 74, earned him an early exit.
NATIONAL PRO TOUR
Three consecutive rounds of 69 by Chris Devlin yielded a share of 16th place in The Players Invitational at Barton Creek's Crenshaw Course in Austin, Tex. Mark Walker's 195 (12 strokes lower than Devlin) stood up for the victory.
EUROPRO TOUR
Paul O'Hanlon, Neil O'Briain and Michael Collins all finished inside the top 20 at the Network Veka Classic at DeVere Mottram Hall in Cheshire, England. O'Hanlon and O'Briain shared 11th place at 4-under-par 212, which was 11 strokes in back of Chris Hanson, who enjoyed a 7-stroke cushion for the victory. O'Hanlon carded rounds of 72, 69 and 71, while O'Briain signed to 71, 69 and 72. Collins finished joint 18th at 213 (73-70-70).
O'Hanlon was five strokes under par for the third and final round when he reached the 15th hole. He proceeded to double bogey that, followed by bogeys at 16 and 17.
O'Briain, who played collegiate golf at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., played the front nine at Mottram Hall eight strokes under par, without a bogey. But he played the back nine four strokes over par, without a birdie there over the entire tournament.
