Spain's Sergio Garcia won his first United States PGA Tour title today, firing a final-round seven-under par 63 to capture The Colonial after Phil Mickelson choked.
Garcia finished at 13-under par 267, two strokes ahead of Mickelson and fellow American Brian Gay with Glen Day fourth at 270.
The lowest front-nine showing of the week, a 29, and a single birdie on the back nine were enough for the 21-year-old Spanish star, the youngest member of the PGA Tour, to win in his 36th PGA start.
"To shoot a 63, and it could have been lower with the wind and the way I have been playing, I'm very proud of myself," Garcia said.
"It's very special. It's something I was really looking forward to. This will help me in my career. I'm really happy with the way it has gone."
Garcia began the day five strokes behind Mickelson, who played the last 11 holes in 4-over par in a par-70 final round.
Trailing by a stroke, Mickelson sent his approach at the 17th hole off a grandstand, made a stunning chip to two feet but then blew a par putt, pushing it left and watching it lip off the left edge.
Garcia's long-awaited triumph came after he won more than 70 events as an amateur and claimed two titles in 1999 as a rookie on the European Tour.
In two-and-a-half years without a PGA win on US soil, Garcia was criticised for using his father as his main coach. But the Spaniard said his inability to win on US soil was a function of bad luck more than poor play.
"In the last two-and-a-half years I have played very well," Garcia said. "I just haven't been lucky. I was playing well. People didn't notice and didn't focus on how well I played."
AFP