The Loop
Aaron Baddeley barely advanced in the FedEx Cup Playoffs -- by putting with his WEDGE
With all due respect to Rory McIlroy, the most clutch putting performance at the Deutsche Bank Championship came from Aaron Baddeley. And he turned it in without even using a putter.
After a rare three-putt by the Aussie on the 14th hole at TPC Boston (his fifth hole of Monday's final round), Baddeley's putter got bent when he tossed it toward his bag. That meant he wouldn't be able to use it for the final 13 holes of the day. Since Baddeley was near the bottom of the leader board, it wouldn't have been such a big deal during a normal week. But because he was on the bubble to advance in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the error became potentially a lot more costly.
Long considered one of the tour's best putters (he's fifth in strokes gained putting this season), Baddeley battled on by using his lob wedge on the greens. And incredibly, he didn't miss a beat, one-putting seven times over the remaining 13 holes and managing to avoid anymore three-putts. Check out this 12-foot par putt he drained on No. 18:
Smooth.
Baddeley finished T-67, which put him at 67th in the FedEx Cup standings, meaning he barely advanced to this week's BMW Championship, the third leg of the playoffs. On Tuesday, Baddeley explained what happened -- and gave a lesson on how to putt with your wedge:
Pretty impressive, Aaron.