ATLANTA — Too far behind to do anything about the FedEx Cup, Camilo Villegas put together a stirring rally Sunday that was good enough to win the Tour Championship in a playoff over Sergio Garcia for his second straight victory.
Villegas overcame a five-shot deficit by making six birdies over the last 11 holes for a 4-under-par 66, then beat Garcia with a par on the 233-yard 18th hole used in the playoff.
The 26-year-old Colombian, who had gone 85 starts on the PGA Tour without winning, picked up his second in a row.
He birdied the 17th from 12 feet to catch Garcia, then twice hit beautiful lag putts from outside 45 feet, once in regulation to finish at 7-under 273, then in the playoff.
Villegas, who should move to No. 6 in the world ranking today, earned $1.26 million.
“Winning is awesome,” Villegas said. “I cannot emphasize how hard I’ve worked.”
Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson each shot 69, and each had a chance to join the playoff. Kim, playing in the second-to-last group with Villegas, missed from 30 feet. Mickelson’s 20-foot birdie putt stayed above the hole.
Garcia missed a 20-foot birdie putt to win, then never gave himself much of a chance on the 18th hole in the playoff. He came out of the shot, and it wound up in deep rough some 30 yards short and right of the flag. His chip stayed in the collar of the green, and a chip to extend the playoff was well short.
What was supposed to be the highlight of the Tour Championship — the FedEx Cup — turned into an afterthought. Vijay Singh effectively wrapped up the $10 million prize two weeks ago in St. Louis, so all he had to do was finish 72 holes and sign for the correct score to win the Cup.
Footnotes.
Lorena Ochoa won the Navistar LPGA Classic in Prattville, Ala., for her seventh victory of the year and first since May, beating Candie Kung with a 2-foot par putt on the second hole of a playoff.
Recharged after a month away from the LPGA Tour, the top-ranked Mexican star closed with a 2-under 70 to match Kung (67) and Cristie Kerr (66) at 15-under 273. Kerr was eliminated with a bogey on the first extra hole.
• Argentina’s Eduardo Romero won the SAS Championship in Cary, N.C., for his third Champions Tour victory in five starts, closing with a 6-under 66 and a 15-under 201 total for a three-stroke victory over Tom Kite (69).
Andy Bean and Gil Morgan shot 67s to tie for third.
• Gonzalo Fernandez- Castano spoiled Lee Westwood’s bid to retain the British Masters title by beating the English Ryder Cup player with a par on the third playoff hole in Sutton Coldfield, Eng- land.
The Associated Press
