Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Singh wins Wachovia

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Sergio Garcia stood transfixed in front of a television set in the media tent, watching Vijay Singh beat Jim Furyk on the fourth extra hole in the Wachovia Championship.

Somehow, in a tournament that was his to lose, Garcia had done just that Sunday at Quail Hollow. He was eliminated on the first hole of the playoff after he three-putted for bogey.

“They say you learn more from your losses than your wins,” he said. “And I’ve got a lot from this week to learn.”

Singh and Furyk did their part, too.

Both shot 6-under 66s to equal the low round of the day, then matched each other par for par through three playoff holes. Finally, Furyk blinked, dumping his drive into the creek down the left side of the 18th fairway on the fourth extra hole.

With Furyk left scrambling for bogey, Singh saved par from the sand for his third victory of the year. And Garcia became the fifth player in PGA Tour history to lose a six-shot lead in the final round — the first since Greg Norman in the 1996 Masters.

At least Garcia finished with a 72. Nine years ago in Augusta, when Norman had a six-stroke lead over Nick Faldo, the Australian closed with a 78 and lost by five.

“Sometimes it’s harder to play with a big lead,” Singh said. “You don’t want to lose the tournament. If the guys are catching up… you start to get a little nervous. But we played well.”

Furyk birdied two of the final three holes in regulation, holing a 7-footer on the 18th to get into the playoff. But the third time he played the 18th was his downfall — he pulled his tee shot into the creek, took a penalty drop and laid up, then saw his fourth shot carom off the flag and into the rough.

“Just getting that close and not winning, sometimes it’s a lot worse than finishing fifth,” Furyk said.

Imagine how Garcia felt.

First, he squandered his six-shot lead in 12 holes. Then he got the lead back with consecutive birdies, only to slip into a tie when he went for the pin on the peninsula-green at the par-3 17th, went into the water and made bogey.

He three-putting from 45 feet on the first extra hole, missing a 6-footer for par.

“Unfortunately, the putts just weren’t too good,” Garcia said. “The second putt, I just didn’t commit to it.”

Even Singh tried to give this one away.

After four straight birdies at the turn to take a two-shot lead, he flubbed a chip behind the par-5 15th, turning birdie into bogey, and needed more help from Garcia to get into a playoff. The 25-year-old Spaniard delivered with his bogey on the 17th by going at the flag with a 7-iron.

“It was the perfect club, I just didn’t hit a good shot,” Garcia said. “I couldn’t get the job done.”

Singh likely won’t earn enough points to replace Tiger Woods at No. 1 in the world, although he’ll get that chance next week in the Byron Nelson Championship.

Nothing went right for Woods all week, even when he was finished.

After an eagle on the 15th and closing with a birdie, PGA Tour rules officials determined that he should not have moved a fence out of his way on the 10th hole after he pushed his drive to the right. It was damaged when the gallery joined in to help, and Woods received a two-shot penalty.

That turned his 69 into a 71 — leaving him in a tie for 11th — and he left the scoring trailer without comment.

Masters runner-up Chris DiMarco closed with a 66 to finish fourth, his third consecutive finish in the top five. Phil Mickelson was 9 under through 15 holes until dropping three shots over the final two holes for a 66 to tie for seventh.

No one expected the winner to be in doubt, with Garcia solidly in control of his game through three rounds. But after he missed a slippery 10-foot birdie putt on the first hole, he lipped out a 30-inch tap-in and made bogey.

Garcia missed from 8 feet on the next hole, then 10-footers on the fourth and fifth holes.

“I played awesome the first eight holes, and it was tough to hit it to 10 feet every time and you can’t make a putt,” he said. “And it cost me.”

The only thing holding him together was his swing, and it wasn’t long before that fell apart.

He drove so far left into the trees on No. 9 he could only punch out to the rough, and then he was headed for more trees until his third shot struck a fan and landed short. But he chipped poorly to 40 feet and made double bogey.

His six-shot lead was down to two at the turn.

Garcia again pulled his tee shot into the trees on the par-5 10th and had to settle for par, and Singh caught him for the first time with a 4-foot birdie on the 11th.

“He didn’t shoot a high number or anything,” Singh said. “He didn’t shoot 5 or 6 over to lose it. We won it. He’s going to feel it a little bit, but not as bad as what Greg did losing the Masters.”

When Garcia made bogey from the bunker on the par-3 13th, he was two shots behind — an eight-shot swing in just 13 holes.

Even when momentum shifted back to Garcia, he let it get away. Tied for the lead, he hit his approach to 6 feet on the 15th for a great look at eagle, but missed the putt.

Ultimately, all that got him was a dubious entry in the record books.

“All the credit in the world to Vijay and Jim,” Garcia said. “It’s just one of those things.”

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