Fed Ex Cup update, Lydia Ko sensational

 Wide-eyed Watney claims number one

Congratulations to Nick Watney who won The Barclays and now leads the FedEx Cup race. Watney had struggled for form since July but played solid golf to shoot 69 and win by three shots over Brandt Snedeker.

Watney's fifth PGA Tour victory

I guess back-to-back wins was too much for Sergio Garcia in the end. I saw an interesting stat pop up on the TV while Garcia was on hole 14 - he only missed 5 putts inside 5 feet over his first 3 rounds, but had already missed 5 of these over his final round. However, he seems a changed man and his improved putting and attitude on and off the course have contributed to his return to form. Garcia will skip the second playoff event, the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston, in favour of a rest before three big tournaments in four weeks: the BMW Championship, Tour Championship (presuming he holds his place in the top 30) and Ryder Cup.

Here are the current top 10 in the FedEx Cup (change in brackets):

Nick Watney         3,269    (up 48)
Brandt Snedeker   2,694    (up 17)
Tiger Woods         2,417    (down 2)
Rory McIlroy        2,299    (down 1)
Zach Johnson        2,166    (down 1)
Jason Dufner         2,110    (down 4)
Bubba Watson      2,080    (down 2)
Dustin Johnson      1,972    (up 18)
Carl Pettersson     1,898    (down 2)
Sergio Garcia        1,810    (up 23)

In addition, Masters runner up Louis Oosthuizen gained 13 places and now sits at 21st, Brit Lee Westwood moved up 24 positions to 27th, 2011 Australian Open winner Greg Chalmers climbed 40 spots to 38th, and Canadian Graeme DeLaet, who finished tied for fifth at The Barclays, jumped a massive 62 places to 44th.

Tiger shot a dissapointing 76 in his final round

The field for the Deutsche Bank is 100, and a further 30 players will be cut before the BMW Championship commences. Notables sitting between the 100-70 positions include popular Korean KJ Choi, South Africa's Rory Sabbatini, 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, and thirteen time PGA Tour winner David Toms. All will need a strong performance this week to sneak into the top 70. A finish outside the top 10 could be damaging.

A proud day for New Zealand sport

A special mention must be given to New Zealander amateur golfer Lydio Ko, who became the youngest winner on the LPGA Tour (ladies equivalent of the PGA Tour) at 15. In what was her second professional win, Ko won by three shots over Korea's Inbee Park at the Canadian Open, which featured many of the top women's golfers in the world. Ko won the US Women's Amateur Championship a few weeks ago, and her hard work is second to none it seems with her dedication to practice rivaling the world's best.

Lydia Ko receives her well-deserved trophy.

Ko's coach Guy Wilson, who works at New Zealand's Institute of Golf, should be commended for his dedication in coaching Ko since she came to New Zealand at the tender age of seven. Ko will play in next month's women's British Open and, quite possibly, enters the tournament as one of the favourites. Could the year get any better for her? Is a Halberg Award a realistic possibility? With the success of New Zealand Olympians such as Lisa Carrington, it will be difficult, but surely Ko has a firm grip on the Emerging Talent Award.

In what is a good decision in my opinion, Ko has decided to maintain her amateur status, resisting the temptation to turn professional and chase the big dollars. Ko argues that she still has "so much to learn" as an amateur. Time is on her side, and assuming her love for the game continues, Ko will be flying New Zealand's flag throughout America and around the world for many years to come.