Thirst quenched

Garcia ends three-year dry spell on first extra hole

May 12, 2008

Sergio Garcia, the best player without a major, got the next best thing yesterday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Garcia ended the longest victory drought of his career by making a clutch par putt to force a playoff and hitting the island-green 17th on the first extra hole to defeat Paul Goydos in The Players Championship.

Haunted by putting problems that kept him without a win the past three years and 53 PGA Tour events, Garcia came up with a 45-foot birdie on the 14th to get back in the game and a 7-foot par putt on the 18th hole for a 1-under-par 71.

Goydos, playing in the final group, missed a 15-foot par putt on the last hole for the victory. He closed with a 74.

It was the first playoff at The Players since 1987 and the first time the PGA Tour opted to start it on the most notorious par-3 in golf. The shot was only 128 yards, but in wind that blasted 30 mph throughout the day, to a green surrounded by water.

What a bad coincidence for Goydos - he was the first to hit into the water when the tournament began Thursday and the last player to go into the water at the worst time. His wedge came up short, and when Goydos saw the splash, he looked to the sky.

Garcia still faced the pressure of finding land, and his wedge hit the middle of the green and rolled to 4 feet. He missed the birdie putt, the one time it didn't matter. He could have taken three putts from there and still won.

Goydos wound up making double bogey, the end of a dream week in which his dry humor and honest perspective finally had an audience.

"It's been a lot of work," Garcia said, clutching the crystal trophy. "It feels like the last three years I've been playing well. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to come around and win. This week, I played so nicely. It felt like everything was so hard. I'm just thrilled the week is over and I managed to finish on top."

Garcia and Goydos finished at 5-under 283.

The Spaniard, 28, whose seven PGA Tour victories are the most by players younger than 30, earned $1.71 million from the richest purse in golf and again enters the conversation as a major contender with the U.S. Open a month away.

In the first playoff of his 16-year career, Goydos was extraordinarily gracious in a defeat so difficult that he tripped over his words.

Jeff Quinney shot a 70 for third place alone, one shot behind.

• LPGA Michelob Ultra Open // Annika Sorenstam shot a 5-under 66 in Williamsburg, Va., to finish at a tournament-record 19-under 265 and beat four others by a record-tying seven strokes for her 72nd career victory. It was a performance that hearkened memories of her game before an injury-filled 2007 season. "The last nine holes, I just dialed it in," she said. Jeong Jang, Chistina Kim, Allison Fouch and Karen Stupples tied for second. Lorena Ochoa finished at 7-under.

E-mail

Reprint

Get home delivery of The Sun and save over 50% off the newsstand price

Thirst quenched

Garcia ends three-year dry spell on first extra hole

Online resources

Going deep

Going deep Sun sports special reports and in-depth coverage
	> 1983 O's > Recruiting Tavon Austin > Football: The tie that binds > Orioles > Baltimore Colts > Going deep: Other sports

Thirst quenched

Garcia ends three-year dry spell on first extra hole

Related topic galleries: Water Restrictions, Getty Images Incorporated, Paul Goydos, Karen Stupples, Lorena Ochoa, U.S. Open Golf, PGA Tour

Popular stories

Online resources

Going deep