By DOUG FERGUSON
Associated PressPONTE VEDRA BEACH,
Fla. – Sunday at Sawgrass felt tougher on Sergio Garcia than what he
faced last summer at the British Open, a playoff loss that seemed to
define a career filled with more talent than trophies.
He was tormented by a suspect putter. He heard questions whether he could win a big one.
All
that changed in the final hour of The Players Championship thanks to
two clutch putts, a wedge that found safety on an island and a playoff
victory that Garcia desperately needed.
The
best player without a major got the next best thing, making a 7-foot
par putt that put him in a playoff, then beating Paul Goydos on the
notorious island-green 17th with a wedge into 4 feet and a putt he
could afford to miss after Goydos hit into the water.
“It feels like a major, and it tests you like a major,” Garcia said. “I’m so thrilled to be here standing with the trophy.”
It was a long time coming.
Garcia
was in the longest victory drought of his career, stretching over three
years and 53 starts on the PGA Tour. Motivated by criticism of his
putting, he rolled in one critical putt after another, none bigger than
a slippery par putt on the final hole for a 1-under 71.
It put him in a playoff when Goydos missed a 15-foot par putt in the final group behind him.
The
first playoff in 21 years at The Players didn’t last long. Goydos,
hitting first, watched helplessly as a gust caused his wedge to balloon
into the cloudy skies and land with a splash a few feet in front of the
green.
Garcia, with no margin for error, followed with a wedge
that landed on the green, caught a slope and stopped 4 feet away. He
missed the birdie putt, but it didn’t matter.
Goydos wound up with a double bogey and a horrible coincidence.
There
were 65 balls hit into the water during the tournament. Goydos was the
first to deposit one in the opening round Thursday, and the last at the
worst possible time in a sudden-death playoff.
For a guy with only two victories in his career, Goydos was abundantly gracious in defeat.
“Look
at the shot Sergio hit in the playoff,” Goydos said. “I got beat. I
played good golf. That doesn’t mean you win. There’s no defense. I
can’t tackle the little guy. There’s no knee-capping. You have to
accept the guy beat me.
“They key is to have the lead with no holes to go.”
Garcia and Goydos each 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.
“The goal is to keep getting better, and
the only thing this tells me is to keep working hard and to believe in
myself,” Garcia said. “And when I do believe in myself, I think there’s
not a lot of guys out there that can beat me.
“I’m looking forward to keep going. I don’t want to get stuck here.”
The
consolation for Goydos was $1.026 million for second place, more than
he earned for winning the Sony Open last year. And he felt no shame
losing to Garcia, whom he raved about earlier in the week as one of the
top talents in the game.
“He’s right there on the precipice of great things,” Goydos said.
Jeff
Quinney had a chance to join the playoff. He went bogey-free for 10
holes in gusts that topped 40 mph at times, but failed to save par from
a bunker behind the 18th green and had to settle for a 70 and third
place alone, one shot behind.
Garcia never needed a victory so badly.
He
had a 10-foot putt to win the British Open at Carnoustie last summer,
then lost in a playoff to Padraig Harrington. No club troubled him more
than the putter, and this week on the TPC Sawgrass was no exception.
Garcia took 124 putts in regulation, 18 more than Goydos.
But
he sure came up big in the final round, rolling in a collection of par
putts that kept him in the hunt, birdie putts that challenged Goydos
and a par on the 18th hole that made this victory possible.
Two of them stood out for the Spaniard.
One
came on the par-3 17th in regulation, when Garcia lagged a 45-foot putt
from the fringe to 3 feet for par. Miss it and he falls two shots
behind with one hole to play. It was slick, and he poured it in the
heart.
“The longest 3 feet I’ve ever seen,” Garcia said.
The
other came on the 18th after a tee shot into the right rough left him
no chance to reach the green. He came up 50 yards short, his pitch ran
by the hole and Garcia was discouraged to see it roll so far by. Those
are the putts he hasn’t made.
But he felt a strange sense of calm, knowing he was going to make the par, and he did.
“I was so happy to see that putt go in,” he said.
Playing
for the first time in his career with a 54-hole lead, Goydos battled to
keep it. He made two unlikely birdies, a 50-foot putt on No. 4 and
chipping in from 100 feet on No. 10, and led by three shots with five
holes to play.
But a two-shot swing on the 14th set up the
finish. Garcia rolled in a 45-foot birdie putt, while Goydos’ approach
came within inches of hitting the flag, bounding over the green. He
missed a 10-footer for par.
The wind was relentless, stronger than it had been all week, turning the Stadium Course into a terror.
It
might have been worse except that tour officials did not cut the greens
and applied a double dose of water. That didn’t keep Jesper Parnevik
from posting an 85, the highest score at TPC Sawgrass in five years. It
was one of nine rounds in the 80s, but not the most damaging. Kenny
Perry, who started the final round one shot behind, shot 81.
Defending
champion Phil Mickelson knew what he was up against early. Walking from
the putting green to the first tee, a gust blew his cap off his head
and sent it tumbling into the pond. Lefty hooked his opening tee shot
into a mound and three-putted for double bogey, and his hopes of being
the first repeat winner ended with a 3-foot birdie he missed on No. 11
and a tee shot into a palmetto bush on the 12th.
He closed with a 78.
Final
scores with relation to par and earnings from The Players Championship,
played May 8-11 at the par-72, 7,215-yard TPC Sawgrass (Players
Stadium) in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (Note: x-won playoff; FedEx Cup
points in parenthesis):
| 1. x-Sergio Garcia |
(4,950) |
|
$1,710,000 |
|
66-73-73-71--283 |
|
|
-5 |
| 2. Paul Goydos |
(2,970) |
|
1,026,000 |
|
68-71-70-74--283 |
|
|
-5 |
| 3. Jeff Quinney |
(1,870) |
|
646,000 |
|
71-73-70-70--284 |
|
|
-4 |
| 4. Briny Baird |
(1,320) |
|
456,000 |
|
71-71-73-72--287 |
|
|
-1 |
| 5. Stephen Ames |
(1,100) |
|
380,000 |
|
74-68-74-72--288 |
|
|
E |
| 6. Brett Quigley |
(890) |
|
307,563 |
|
70-76-72-71--289 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 6. Ernie Els |
(890) |
|
307,563 |
|
72-71-74-72--289 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 6. Ben Crane |
(890) |
|
307,563 |
|
70-72-75-72--289 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 6. Tom Lehman |
(890) |
|
307,563 |
|
73-73-69-74--289 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 10. Chad Campbell |
(633) |
|
218,500 |
|
73-72-77-68--290 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 10. Dean Wilson |
(633) |
|
218,500 |
|
74-72-75-69--290 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 10. Henrik Stenson |
0 |
|
218,500 |
|
73-71-75-71--290 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 10. J.B. Holmes |
(633) |
|
218,500 |
|
72-72-71-75--290 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 10. Greg Kraft |
(633) |
|
218,500 |
|
75-72-68-75--290 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 15. Kevin Stadler |
(426) |
|
147,250 |
|
70-72-78-71--291 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 15. Fred Couples |
(426) |
|
147,250 |
|
70-72-77-72--291 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 15. Stuart Appleby |
(426) |
|
147,250 |
|
72-72-71-76--291 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 15. Tim Petrovic |
(426) |
|
147,250 |
|
73-73-69-76--291 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 15. Bernhard Langer |
(426) |
|
147,250 |
|
72-67-75-77--291 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 15. Kenny Perry |
(426) |
|
147,250 |
|
68-70-72-81--291 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 21. Woody Austin |
(275) |
|
95,000 |
|
71-76-73-72--292 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 21. Stewart Cink |
(275) |
|
95,000 |
|
71-75-73-73--292 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 21. N. Thompson |
(275) |
|
95,000 |
|
70-77-71-74--292 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 21. Ian Poulter |
(275) |
|
95,000 |
|
69-74-73-76--292 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 21. Boo Weekley |
(275) |
|
95,000 |
|
70-71-74-77--292 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 21. Phil Mickelson |
(275) |
|
95,000 |
|
70-73-71-78--292 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 27. Luke Donald |
(195) |
|
67,450 |
|
75-72-74-72--293 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 27. John Merrick |
(195) |
|
67,450 |
|
70-72-77-74--293 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 27. Rory Sabbatini |
(195) |
|
67,450 |
|
73-71-75-74--293 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 27. Ryan Moore |
(195) |
|
67,450 |
|
72-74-73-74--293 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 27. Jim Furyk |
(195) |
|
67,450 |
|
74-72-71-76--293 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 32. David Toms |
(140) |
|
48,260 |
|
77-70-76-71--294 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 32. Steve Elkington |
(140) |
|
48,260 |
|
69-76-77-72--294 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 32. Nick O'Hern |
(140) |
|
48,260 |
|
73-74-75-72--294 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 32. Aaron Baddeley |
(140) |
|
48,260 |
|
71-74-77-72--294 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 32. Mike Weir |
(140) |
|
48,260 |
|
71-76-75-72--294 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 32. Brian Gay |
(140) |
|
48,260 |
|
72-74-75-73--294 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 32. M. Angel Jimenez |
0 |
|
48,260 |
|
70-74-76-74--294 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 32. Jonathan Byrd |
(140) |
|
48,260 |
|
76-71-72-75--294 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 32. Fredrik Jacobson |
(140) |
|
48,260 |
|
76-70-70-78--294 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 32. Jerry Kelly |
(140) |
|
48,260 |
|
74-72-70-78--294 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 42. Bart Bryant |
(86) |
|
29,830 |
|
73-71-79-72--295 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 42. Robert Allenby |
(86) |
|
29,830 |
|
74-71-77-73--295 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 42. Anthony Kim |
(86) |
|
29,830 |
|
70-70-79-76--295 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 42. Mark Wilson |
(86) |
|
29,830 |
|
76-71-72-76--295 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 42. Pat Perez |
(86) |
|
29,830 |
|
72-74-72-77--295 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 42. Daniel Chopra |
(86) |
|
29,830 |
|
72-72-73-78--295 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 42. J.J. Henry |
(86) |
|
29,830 |
|
71-73-73-78--295 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 42. Ben Curtis |
(86) |
|
29,830 |
|
74-72-71-78--295 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 42. Soren Hansen |
0 |
|
29,830 |
|
71-73-73-78--295 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 51. D.J. Trahan |
(66) |
|
22,863 |
|
70-77-75-74--296 |
|
+ |
8 |
| 51. Retief Goosen |
(66) |
|
22,863 |
|
73-71-77-75--296 |
|
+ |
8 |
| 51. Carl Pettersson |
(66) |
|
22,863 |
|
74-71-75-76--296 |
|
+ |
8 |
| 54. J. Maria Olazabal |
(62) |
|
21,280 |
|
70-75-80-72--297 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 54. Johnson Wagner |
(62) |
|
21,280 |
|
72-74-77-74--297 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 54. Kevin Na |
(62) |
|
21,280 |
|
72-75-76-74--297 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 54. Ken Duke |
(62) |
|
21,280 |
|
72-75-76-74--297 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 54. Chris DiMarco |
(62) |
|
21,280 |
|
71-73-78-75--297 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 54. Todd Hamilton |
(62) |
|
21,280 |
|
69-77-75-76--297 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 54. Rocco Mediate |
(62) |
|
21,280 |
|
74-72-72-79--297 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 54. Adam Scott |
(62) |
|
21,280 |
|
75-71-71-80--297 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 54. Davis Love III |
(62) |
|
21,280 |
|
73-74-70-80--297 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 63. Nick Watney |
(59) |
|
20,235 |
|
76-71-74-77--298 |
|
+ |
10 |
| 63. Charlie Wi |
(59) |
|
20,235 |
|
74-73-69-82--298 |
|
+ |
10 |
| 65. Cliff Kresge |
(58) |
|
19,950 |
|
74-71-77-77--299 |
|
+ |
11 |
| 66. Camilo Villegas |
(57) |
|
19,570 |
|
74-73-77-76--300 |
|
+ |
12 |
| 66. Richard Sterne |
0 |
|
19,570 |
|
77-70-76-77--300 |
|
+ |
12 |
| 66. Jose Coceres |
(57) |
|
19,570 |
|
72-75-71-82--300 |
|
+ |
12 |
| 69. Heath Slocum |
(55) |
|
19,095 |
|
69-76-78-78--301 |
|
+ |
13 |
| 69. Jesper Parnevik |
(55) |
|
19,095 |
|
72-74-70-85--301 |
|
+ |
13 |
| 71. Jason Bohn |
(54) |
|
18,810 |
|
74-73-79-76--302 |
|
+ |
14 |
| 72. Billy Mayfair |
(54) |
|
18,620 |
|
72-73-77-81--303 |
|
+ |
15 |
| 73. Troy Matteson |
(53) |
|
18,335 |
|
70-76-80-81--307 |
|
+ |
19 |
| 73. T. Armour III |
(53) |
|
18,335 |
|
71-76-80-80--307 |
|
+ |
19 |
| • • • |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Missed the cut |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 75. Alex Cejka |
|
|
|
|
72-76--148 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 75. John Senden |
|
|
|
|
76-72--148 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 75. Brandt Snedeker |
|
|
|
|
72-76--148 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 75. Sean O'Hair |
|
|
|
|
75-73--148 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 75. Vijay Singh |
|
|
|
|
75-73--148 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 75. Kevin Sutherland |
|
|
|
|
73-75--148 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 75. Niclas Fasth |
|
|
|
|
69-79--148 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 82. Mark Hensby |
|
|
|
|
78-71--149 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 82. Bubba Watson |
|
|
|
|
76-73--149 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 82. Tim Wilkinson |
|
|
|
|
77-72--149 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 82. Brian Bateman |
|
|
|
|
74-75--149 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 82. Rod Pampling |
|
|
|
|
72-77--149 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 82. Justin Leonard |
|
|
|
|
75-74--149 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 82. Scott Verplank |
|
|
|
|
71-78--149 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 82. Ryuji Imada |
|
|
|
|
73-76--149 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 90. Mathias Gronberg |
|
|
|
|
74-76--150 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 90. Michael Allen |
|
|
|
|
73-77--150 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 90. Richard Johnson |
|
|
|
|
77-73--150 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 90. John Rollins |
|
|
|
|
78-72--150 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 90. Steve Flesch |
|
|
|
|
74-76--150 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 90. P. Harrington |
|
|
|
|
72-78--150 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 90. Nathan Green |
|
|
|
|
78-72--150 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 90. Stephen Leaney |
|
|
|
|
77-73--150 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 98. Mathew Goggin |
|
|
|
|
74-77--151 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 98. M. Calcavecchia |
|
|
|
|
76-75--151 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 98. Justin Rose |
|
|
|
|
78-73--151 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 98. Lee Westwood |
|
|
|
|
73-78--151 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 98. Peter Lonard |
|
|
|
|
77-74--151 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 98. George McNeill |
|
|
|
|
77-74--151 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 98. Joe Ogilvie |
|
|
|
|
74-77--151 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 98. Fred Funk |
|
|
|
|
74-77--151 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 98. Angel Cabrera |
|
|
|
|
70-81--151 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 107. John Mallinger |
|
|
|
|
75-77--152 |
|
+ |
8 |
| 107. M. Campbell |
|
|
|
|
74-78--152 |
|
+ |
8 |
| 107. Shaun Micheel |
|
|
|
|
77-75--152 |
|
+ |
8 |
| 107. Dudley Hart |
|
|
|
|
75-77--152 |
|
+ |
8 |
| 107. Matt Jones |
|
|
|
|
75-77--152 |
|
+ |
8 |
| 107. Rich Beem |
|
|
|
|
72-80--152 |
|
+ |
8 |
| 107. Brian Davis |
|
|
|
|
77-75--152 |
|
+ |
8 |
| 107. Bob Estes |
|
|
|
|
77-75--152 |
|
+ |
8 |
| 107. Geoff Ogilvy |
|
|
|
|
77-75--152 |
|
+ |
8 |
| 116. C. Howell III |
|
|
|
|
79-74--153 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 116. Matt Kuchar |
|
|
|
|
78-75--153 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 116. Bill Haas |
|
|
|
|
76-77--153 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 116. Paul Casey |
|
|
|
|
77-76--153 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 116. Jeff Overton |
|
|
|
|
74-79--153 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 116. Brett Wetterich |
|
|
|
|
71-82--153 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 116. Steve Stricker |
|
|
|
|
77-76--153 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 116. Dustin Johnson |
|
|
|
|
73-80--153 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 116. Steve Lowery |
|
|
|
|
77-76--153 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 116. Vaughn Taylor |
|
|
|
|
78-75--153 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 126. Tom Pernice, Jr. |
|
|
|
|
75-79--154 |
|
+ |
10 |
| 126. Tim Herron |
|
|
|
|
73-81--154 |
|
+ |
10 |
| 126. Bo Van Pelt |
|
|
|
|
74-80--154 |
|
+ |
10 |
| 129. Zach Johnson |
|
|
|
|
76-79--155 |
|
+ |
11 |
| 129. Robert Garrigus |
|
|
|
|
79-76--155 |
|
+ |
11 |
| 131. Steve Marino |
|
|
|
|
77-79--156 |
|
+ |
12 |
| 131. Andres Romero |
|
|
|
|
77-79--156 |
|
+ |
12 |
| 133. K.J. Choi |
|
|
|
|
79-78--157 |
|
+ |
13 |
| 134. J.P. Hayes |
|
|
|
|
83-75--158 |
|
+ |
14 |
| 135. Tim Clark |
|
|
|
|
77-82--159 |
|
+ |
15 |
| 135. Lucas Glover |
|
|
|
|
80-79--159 |
|
+ |
15 |
| 135. Charley Hoffman |
|
|
|
|
76-83--159 |
|
+ |
15 |
| 135. Charles Warren |
|
|
|
|
77-82--159 |
|
+ |
15 |
| WD. Jeff Maggert |
|
|
|
|
72-WD |
|
|
|
| WD. Ryan Armour |
|
|
|
|
81-WD |
|
|
|
| WD. S. Maruyama |
|
|
|
|
81-WD |
|
|
|
| WD. Hunter Mahan |
|
|
|
|
WD |
|
|
|
| WD. Jason Gore |
|
|
|
|
WD |
|
|
|
| WD. C. Beckman |
|
|
|
|
WD |
|
|
|
Posted: 5/11/2008
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