PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Sergio Garcia, the best player without a major, got the next best thing Sunday.
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 victory 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 71.
Goydos, playing in the final group, missed a 15-foot par putt on the last hole for the win. 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.
Garcia and Goydos finished at 5-under 283.
The 28-year-old Spaniard, whose seven PGA TOUR victories are the most by players under age 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.
Leaderboard – Final:
1. Sergio Garcia ESP 66 73 73 71 283 – 5
2. Paul Goydos USA 68 71 70 74 283 – 5
3. Jeff Quinney USA 71 73 70 70 284 – 4
4. Briny Baird USA 71 71 73 72 287 – 1
5. Stephen Ames CAN 74 68 74 72 288 E
6. Brett Quigley USA 70 76 72 71 289 +1
Ernie Els SAF 72 71 74 72 289 +1
Ben Crane USA 70 72 75 72 289 +1
Tom Lehman USA 73 73 69 74 289 +1
10. Chad Campbell USA 73 72 77 68 290 +2
Dean Wilson USA 74 72 75 69 290 +2
Henrik Swenson SWE 73 71 75 71 290 +2
J.B. Holmes USA 72 72 71 75 290 +2
Greg Kraft USA 75 72 68 75 290 +2