HARRISON, N.Y. — What looked like more heartache for Steve Stricker turned into the sweetest victory of his career.

After going 6 1/2 years and 146 tournaments without winning, Stricker birdied four of his last five holes yesterday at the Barclays for a stunning turnaround that gave him a 2-under 69 and a two-shot victory over K.J. Choi. “It was hard, but it was fun,” Stricker said, his voice choking as tears streamed down the side of his face. “I never knew if I was going to win again.”

It wasn’t easy. Not with 10 players — five of them major champions — separated by three shots. And not with Choi holing two birdie putts that were a combined 95 feet.

Stricker refused to buckle. And when his final birdie from 8 feet dropped into the cup, he raised his arms and hugged his caddie, Tom Matthews, who first caddied for Stricker when he won the 2001 Match Play Championship in Australia.

Along with the fourth victory of his career, Stricker moved to the top of the FedEx Cup standings with 2,050-point lead over Choi, who closed with a 70. Rory Sabbatini, who had a share of the lead at the turn, closed with a 68 to finish another stroke back and moved up to No. 3 in the playoff race.

Woods skipped the first of four playoff events and tumbled to No. 4, nearly 5,000 points behind Stricker.

The next stop is the Deutsche Bank Championship outside Boston, which starts Friday. There are three tournaments remaining before someone captures the $10 million deferred bonus, but all Stricker cared about was hoisting another trophy.

He finished at 16-under 268 and earned $1.26 million.