Hunter Mahan storms clear to win The Barclays

Hunter Mahan stormed clear of a congested leaderboard with five birdies in the last eight holes to claim his sixth PGA Tour victory by two shots at The Barclays on Sunday.

A stroke off the pace heading into the final round, American Mahan sparked his sizzling run by knocking in a five-footer at the par-four 11th and effectively sealed the win at the par-five 17th, where he sank a slick 22-foot putt from above the hole.

He could afford the luxury of a bogey at the last, after pushing his tee shot into a tree line, chipping out and missing the green with his third, as he closed with a six-under-par 65 at Ridgewood Country Club to post a 14-under total of 270.

Stuart Appleby also signed off with a 65 in the opener of the PGA Tour’s four-event FedExCup playoffs, finishing joint second at 12 under with fellow Australian Jason Day (68) and American Cameron Tringale (66).

Veteran American Jim Furyk, co-leader after the third round with Day, mixed five birdies with four bogeys on the way to a 70 as he slipped back into solo eighth place at 10 under.

Mahan, who was congratulated on the edge of the 18th green by his wife Kandi and daughter Zoe Olivia, was thrilled to clinch his first play-off event and end a title drought dating back to the 2012 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

"I haven’t played my best this year so to get a win at an event like this, and the timing that it was (in the play-offs), feels unbelievable," a beaming Mahan said.

"I am extremely proud of myself right now. I’ve had some success the past couple of weeks, my game was starting to come around and I was making some putts, making some 20-footers, getting up and down here and there.