Vijay Singh won the Barclays for a record fourth time by beating Sergio Garcia on the second playoff hole on Sunday.
The 45-year-old Fijian closed with a one-under 70 to match Garcia (70) and Kevin Sutherland (68) at eight-under 276 on the sun-baked Ridgewood Country Club course, the first-time site after 41 seasons at Westchester Country Club.
“It’s a great golf course,” said Singh, the 1993, 1995 and 2006 winner at Westchester. “Westchester was a good golf course. This tops Westchester. Every single player out there absolutely enjoyed this golf course.”
PHOTO: AP
Singh earned 11,000 points in the US PGA Tour playoff opener to take the lead with 109,500 points — 5,125 ahead of second-place Garcia. The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational winner three weeks ago, Singh also earned US$1.26 million for his 33rd tour victory.
Third-round leader Kevin Streelman (72), Ben Curtis (68) and Mathew Goggin (67) tied for fourth at seven-under and Martin Laird (67), Justin Leonard (67), Nicholas Thompson (67), Mike Weir (72) and Paul Casey (72) followed at six-under.
Garcia, a two-time Westchester champion, and Singh made long birdie putts on the first extra hole, the 472-yard 18th framed by a canyon of trees, with Garcia rolling a 27-footer and Singh matching him moments later from 26 feet. After driving into the right rough, Sutherland was on the back fringe in three when Garcia and Singh made their birdie putts.
PHOTO: AP
“I think he was surprised to make his,” Singh said. “I was surprised to see it go in and he was even more surprised to see mine go in.”
Singh and Garcia high-fived each other after Singh holed his putt.
“He’s a good friend of mine,” Singh said. “It’s hard to see your friend not win, especially if he’s playing against you, but somebody has to win.”
Garcia and Singh then moved to the 577-yard, par-five 17th. Garcia hooked his drive into the left rough, just feet from towering trees.
With Singh in the middle of the fairway, Garcia hit his second shot behind a tree in the right rough. Singh then hit a 267-yard approach onto the green, about 20 feet long and right.
Because the ground around Garcia’s ball was ruled abnormal, he was able to take a drop that allowed him to get a clear shot to the green. He advanced the ball to near the front, about 30 feet from the hole and nearly holed his chip.
Singh then rolled his 20-foot eagle putt within inches for a tap-in birdie.
Garcia reached eight-under with a tap-in birdie on 17 and missed a chance to get to nine-under on 18 when he pulled a 16-footer. Singh, playing in the final group, reached eight-under with a two-putt birdie on 17 and also missed a 16-foot birdie try on 18.
Phil Mickelson shot a 68 to tie for 19th at four-under. He dropped from third to fourth in the points standings entering his Deutsche Bank Championship title defense.
Defending champion Steve Stricker had a 71 to join Mickelson at four-under.
Kenny Perry, second in the standings behind the sidelined Tiger Woods entering the week, had weekend rounds of 72 and 76 to tie for 48th at even-par. A three-time winner this season, Perry dropped to seventh in the points race.
■SAFEWAY CLASSIC
AP, PORTLAND, Oregon
Cristie Kerr sank a 15-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole and defeated Helen Alfredsson and Sophie Gustafson to win the Safeway Classic at Columbia Edgewater Country Club on Sunday.
Kerr, Alfredsson and Gustafson finished 54 regulation holes at 13-under 203. Alfredsson and Gustafson missed slightly longer birdie putts during the playoff, before Kerr successfully made hers.
It was Kerr’s 11th career victory on the US LPGA Tour. Kerr, whose last victory was last year’s US Women’s Open, collected a first prize of US$255,000 from the tournament’s US$1.7 million purse. Kerr rallied from four shots down going into Sunday’s final round with a seven-under 65, the lowest round of the tournament.
She opened with a front nine of 32, then after making a bogey at 11, closed her round with birdies on four of the final seven holes.
Alfredsson and Gustafson, tied for the lead at 13-under, both made bogeys at 17 to create a three-way tie for first that included Kerr. Kerr, playing in the group ahead of Alfredsson and Gustafson, briefly took the lead when she made an uphill, 15-foot birdie putt at 18.
Gustafson forced a playoff when she dropped a 12-footer for birdie. Alfredsson, the second-round leader, followed Gustafson by making an 8-foot birdie putt.
Alfredsson, who shot a final round 69, led by as many as two strokes on the back nine. Gustafson, trailing Alfredsson by one stroke heading into Sunday, pulled even by making short birdie putts at 15 and 16.
Katherine Hull (67) finished alone in fourth at 205, two strokes out of the playoff. Hull won the Canadian Women’s Open last week.
Han Hee-won (66) placed fifth at 206. Annika Sorenstam (69) and defending champion Lorena Ochoa (70) were among five players to finish in a tie for sixth at 209.
Sorenstam got to within two shots of the lead on the back nine, but quickly faded and eventually finished with a double-bogey at 18.
Ochoa also briefly flirted with contention after making three consecutive birdies early on the back nine.
Joining Sorenstam and Ochoa at 209 were first-round leader Angela Park (70), Catriona Matthew (70) and Paula Creamer (72).
■KLM OPEN
AP, ZANDVOORT, Netherlands
Darren Clarke claimed his second victory of the season on Sunday, shooting a four-under 66 to win the KLM Open by four strokes.
Clarke, who is chasing a wild card spot in Nick Faldo’s European Ryder Cup team, finished with a 16-under total of 264. Paul McGinley shot a six-under 64 to finish second at 12-under.
Clarke, who also won the Asian Open in April for his first title in five years, now heads into next week’s Johnnie Walker Championship in Scotland with a solid chance to earn one of Faldo’s two wild cards.
“I had two weeks to try to impress Nick,” Clarke said. “The first is out of the way and I seem to have done that.”
Clarke bogeyed the par-five second hole, but then made three birdies on the next four to open up a lead against Henrik Stenson. The Swede had birdied the opening three holes, but dropped three shots between the seventh and ninth. Stenson finished in third place, another shot back.
Lee Slattery (65) and Marc Warren (68) tied for fourth place at nine-under.
McGinley resigned as Faldo’s assistant captain in the hopes of qualifying as a player, but looks likely to need a top performance at Gleneagles to earn a spot.
“There are only two picks, so it’s a tight situation, but I’m going to have to win [in Scotland] to give myself a chance,” McGinley said. “As everybody knows, it’s about winning. I have no complaints — I have not played well enough, but there’s one more event and I’ll certainly be giving it 101 percent.”
■SAS LADIES MASTERS
AP, OSLO, Norway
Gwladys Nocera eagled the long 14th hole en route to a four-under 68 and won the SAS Ladies Masters by three shots on Sunday.
It was the third title of the season for the 33-year-old from France.
Nocera had a 54-hole total of 13-under 203 on the Haga Golf Club.
England’s Samantha Head and Spain’s Tania Elosegui shared second, with eight players in a tie for third at eight-under.
Nocera has eight wins in three seasons on the Ladies European Tour.
Four-time major winner Laura Davies of England, who won the 2006 tournament, shared 36th.
Defending champion Suzannn Pettersen of Norway skipped the event.
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