Weir's strong finish gives him 1-stroke lead

Sunshine began to bake the greens, the wind kept players guessing and the birdie cheers kept right on coming Sunday in the Deutsche Bank Championship, the final one for Mike Weir.

His third birdie over the final five holes gave him a 4-under 67 and a one-shot lead in Norton, Mass.

And it meant next to nothing.

"I've got my hands full," Weir said after patching together a good score despite marginal shots.

First came a pair of 63s from Ben Crane and Camilo Villegas, the kind of score no one thought possible in such blustery conditions. Then came the steady surge of Sergio Garcia and Vijay Singh, and a late charge from Ernie Els and Jim Furyk to set the stage for the Labor Day finish.

Expect everyone to work extra hard to win the Deutsche Bank Championship.

"One less than the guy who comes in second," Garcia said when asked what it would take to capture the second stop in the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup.

It starts with Weir, who hit only half of the fairways and half of the greens. He has been around the lead all week, but had to grind out a score to stay there, including a superb 7-iron to 3 feet on the 14th, chipping in for birdie on the 15th and the final birdie on the 18th.

Weir was at 17-under 196, the 10th time the Canadian has had at least a share of the 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour.

"There's great players on the leaderboard," Weir said. "Some guys that are hungry to win for the first time, guys that haven't won many times, and I'm trying to do the same thing. I just want to keep playing my type of golf. Hopefully, I can hit it a little better and find a few more fairways."

Villegas ignored the swirling wind and took only 22 putts in his round of 63, which put him in the final group today with Weir, 1 shot behind and perhaps his best chance for his first PGA Tour victory.

Three shots behind were Garcia (68) and Singh (69), part of the playoff last week at The Barclays that Singh won to move atop the FedEx Cup standings.

Winfield's Kevin Streelman dropped from a tie for fifth to a tie for 17th after a 73.

Johnnie Walker Championship: Gregory Havret shot a 3-under 70 for a 1-stroke victory in the Johnnie Walker Championship in Gleneagles, Scotland, and Oliver Wilson finished 10th to clinch Europe's 10th and final automatic Ryder Cup spot.

Poulter, Casey named: Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo used his two picks Sunday on Ian Poulter and Paul Casey, a surprising decision that left Darren Clarke off the European team for the first time since 1995.

Clarke figured to be a likely choice because he played on the last five teams and has won twice on the European Tour in the last four months.

Instead, Faldo went with a pair of Englishmen at the end of the Johnnie Walker Championship.

"I've been watching these guys through the summer," Faldo said. "Ian is a very determined guy. I love his attitude and what he did at The Open - that back nine he played with the intention to win and had that emotional feeling."