Hoffman wins in Boston

Little-known American Charley Hoffman has suddenly thrown himself into contention for a Ryder Cup wild card after a staggering performance in the second of the FedEx Cup play-off events.

The 33-year-old grabbed 11 birdies in a career-low 62 - the best round of the day by three - to take the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston by five strokes.

It was only his second US Tour victory in 298 starts and he came into it 132nd on the world rankings.

'If I can shoot 62 on a Sunday in the play-offs I am pretty sure I can play pretty good for the team in the Ryder Cup,' said Hoffman.

'I would love to represent the United States. There's no question, I think I can contribute to that team.'

American captain Corey Pavin names his four picks later on Tuesday, having waited three weeks like predecessor Paul Azinger to see if anybody was in hot form.

Hoffman would still be a surprise selection, however. In a 10-year professional career he has played only five majors, has never had a top 30 finish in them - and did not even qualify for any of the four this season.

Tiger Woods looks certain to be one wild card despite America winning the last match without him and losing the previous three with him.

Woods has come 12th and 11th in the first two play-off tournaments and while that means he has not had a top 10 placing in his last six starts - that has never happened to him before - he is still world number one.

Once again Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker missed the chance to topple him last night.

Mickelson needed a top three finish and with a 76 slumped to 25th spot, while Stricker had to win and was ninth.

Asked if he was expecting a call from Pavin after his closing 68 Woods, needing a pick for the first time, said: 'We will see - hopefully he has my number!'

Luke Donald already has his wild card from Pavin's opposite number Colin Montgomerie, but he also now has a sixth runners-up finish since his last win in America 4 1/2 years ago.

The Englishman led by two after seven holes of his final round, but as Hoffman went into overdrive Donald went into reverse with a hat-trick of bogies from the 14th.

At least he finished with two birdies and he shared second with Australians Geoff Ogilvy and Jason Day.

As a result Donald is in fifth place in the FedEx Cup standings going into the BMW Championship in Chicago on Thursday.

If he can stay there or climb the table for another week he will still have an opportunity to grab the huge prize that goes to the overall winner of the four-event series.

For Padraig Harrington, though, the play-offs are over. Missing the cut on Saturday led to him dropping from 57th to 73rd and only the leading 70 advance.