Sergio Garcia of Spain fired a seven-under-par 63 in yesterday's final round to win the $4 million Colonial tournament by two strokes for his first U.S. PGA Tour win.
The 21-year-old Garcia, who began the day five strokes behind co-leaders Phil Mickelson and Brett Quigley, made seven birdies in a bogey-free round to claim the $720,000 top prize with a 13-under-par total of 267.
"I've been playing well over the last year and a half, but I didn't get any good breaks," said Garcia. "Today I got a few and everybody saw how well I could play."
Garcia, who burst onto the world golf scene by finishing one shot behind Tiger Woods at the 1999 PGA Championship, broke a host of tournament records with his thrilling final round performance at Colonial Country Club.
The charismatic Spaniard posted a 29 on the front nine, the lowest nine-hole score in nearly 20 years, to become the youngest Colonial winner by nearly four years. His father/manager Victor Garcia was among the fans in the gallery.
Mickelson, who held a fourshot lead after eight holes, missed three par-putts inside five feet as he squandered a chance for a repeat victory at Colonial - a feat accomplished only by the legendary Ben Hogan.
Mickelson finished with a round of even-par 70 for 269 to tie for second with Brian Gay, who shot a final-round 65.
Glen Day was alone in fourth at 270, with Shigeki Maruyama of Japan (70) at 272 along with Justin Leonard and Brett Quigley.
