August 15-18
Medinah CC (No. 3), Medinah, Illinois
$9,250,000
Round 1, Round 2, Round 3

Justin Thomas held his nerve to clinch victory at the BMW Championship in Medinah by three shots amid a concerted effort by the chasing pack to reel him in.

The American, who took a six-stroke lead into the final day, completed his campaign with a round of 68 which included six birdies, four of them on the back nine just as it looked as if his advantage might evaporate.

In the process, he held off compatriot Patrick Cantlay and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama, the latter of whom shot a second 63 of the tournament to finish third on 20 under par, two shots behind Cantlay in second.

All three secured top-30 places in the FedExCup rankings to ensure their participation at next week's Tour Championship at East Lake, unlike reigning champion Tiger Woods, whose season is over after he carded a 72 to finish on seven under for a share of 37th place on a day when he needed a spot in the top six to qualify.

Asked what it had been like heading into the last round with such a big lead, Thomas told Sky Sports: "It was hard. I hadn't won in a while and I was really nervous, to be honest.

"I really, really hit the ball bad today for the most part. I really found it and hit a lot of really quality shots and putts those last eight holes, but I struggled and it's, I think, very impressive the fact I got a four-under round out of how I hit it today."

Thomas set off in pole position having carded a new course record 61 on Saturday, and although he dropped a shot at the opening hole, birdies at five and seven saw him reach the turn at 22 under overall.

But another bogey at the par five 10th could hardly have been worse-timed as Cantlay, who had gone out in 33, collected a fifth birdie to reduced his compatriot's advantage to just two shots.

Thomas birdied the 11th to extend his lead once again as Matsuyama joined Cantlay on 19 after picking up six shots in seven holes around the turn.

However, both chasers carded bogey fives at the 16th to Thomas' par and the leader finished with two threes to claim the prize.

His reward will be to tee off at East Lake on 10 under par under the Tour Championship's new format with Cantlay starting at eight under and Brooks Koepka at seven under.

Thomas said: "I've never slept on a Wednesday lead before, so that's going to be bizarre. I'm just going to try to go out - anywhere from 10 to 15 under par usually wins that tournament and that's what I'm going try to go out and shoot."