Golf: Wilkinson finishes well at Barracuda Championship

Manawatu's Tim Wilkinson has fired a strong final round at the Barracuda Championship in Reno, Nevada on the PGA Tour as he finished in a share of eighth place.

The left-hander accumulated 12 modified stableford points from his round today that included seven birdies and two bogeys, as he finished on 34 points, 15 back from winner Geoff Ogilvy (49). American Justin Hicks finished second (44), while countrymen John Huh and Johnathan Byrd shared third place on 37 points.

Kiwi Danny Lee, who made four birdies and two bogeys during his final round, finished in a share of 53rd on 21 points.

This week's $3.5 million tournament had a water-down field as the world's best players were at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.

The Barracuda Championship, which changed its scoring to modified stableford in 2012, is the only tournament on the PGA Tour, which uses this format.

Players are awarded points on each hole with eight points for a double eagle, five for an eagle and two for a birdie. Scoring par on a hole is neutral while a bogey costs you one point and a double bogey or worse will result in a player losing three points.

Essentially, the format promotes 'risk and reward' on the golf course and encourages players to take on more aggressive strokes in the search for points, while if they're on track for a double bogey or worse they can just pick up their ball and move on to the next hole.

Wilkinson's strong final round helped him to his third top-10 finish on the PGA Tour this year and will likely bump him up a few places in the FedEx Cup standings after he began the tournament in 108th place.

The top 125 players in the standings at season's end next month hold their card for next year. There are only six tournaments left on the 2013-2014 schedule.

Lee began the week in 104th on the FedEx Cup standings and was projected to drop one spot after his efforts at the Barracuda Championship.