Andrew Both

Mike Weir double-bogeyed the par-4 ninth to surrender his overnight lead to Vijay Singh midway through Monday's final round at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

In pursuit of his ninth PGA Tour victory, the left-handed Canadian pulled his approach into the left rough, hacked out across the green and needed three more shots to get down for an ugly six.

That gave him an outward nine of level-par 36 on a sun-drenched afternoon at the TPC Boston, and an overall tally of 17 under.

FedExCup points leader Singh, bidding for a third PGA Tour title in five starts, was four under for the round after 10 holes, a stroke in front of Weir.

On a high-quality leaderboard, South African Ernie Els and Spaniard Sergio Garcia were tied for third at 15 under, both having completed 11 holes.

One ahead of the chasing pack overnight, Weir knew he faced an uphill task in what promised to be a shootout with nine players bunched within five shots of the lead.

"I've got my hands full," the 2003 Masters champion said after firing a 67 in the third round. There's great players on the leaderboard, some guys that are hungry to win for the first time, guys that haven't won many times and I'm trying to do the same thing."

Garcia, runner-up in his last two PGA Tour appearances, made a red-hot start in the firm, fast-running conditions with three consecutive birdies from the second to briefly join Weir in a tie for the lead. With seven holes to play he was in fourth place at 15-under.

It was not a good week for the British contingent, with only Brian Davis and Scotland's Martin Laird surviving the halfway cut. However, they both retreated in the final round, Davis shooting 75 and Laird 73 to finish locked together at three-under 281.