Golf:Sergio Garcia produced a brilliant performance today to clinch a sixth Ryder Cup cap and leave Ian Poulter needing a wild card for the second time in three matches.
Garcia won the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina by two shots after the tournament spilled into a Monday finish because of heavy weekend rain.
He today resumed one in front with 14 holes to play, but stood on the 13th tee sharing the lead with American Chad Campbell and South African Tim Clark.
Then came birdies at four of the next five holes and a closing bogey secured the 32-year-old Spaniard his eighth PGA Tour victory, but first since the 2008 Players Championship.
Poulter had moved into the 10th and last automatic qualifying spot with his joint third place finish at the USPGA Championship, but looks a certainty for one of captain Jose Maria Olazabal’s two picks next Monday.
Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts is favourite for the other wild card, even more so after a joint seventh place finish at the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro.
Given a special invitation to the event, the 29-year-old was another of the 38 players unable to finish yesterday and instantly made birdies at the 13th and 14th on his return. They lifted Colsaerts into a tie for third, but after he closed with four pars for a 66 — the same score as Garcia — he slipped back down the leaderboard.
Unlike Garcia and Poulter, who are involved in the start of the FedEx Cup play-offs, Colsaerts still has this week’s Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles to come and a third place finish there would take him ahead of German Martin Kaymer, the player now in the last automatic spot.
England’s David Lynn, the surprise runner-up in the final major of the season, and Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello also have a chance in Scotland to earn a cup debut, but they each need to win.
Garcia began his final burst with a superb 136-yard approach to within 18 inches of the flag on the 13th, got up and down from sand at the long 15th, hit his tee shot to two feet on the 166-yard next and then fired in another iron to six feet at the 17th.
A four-shot lead came down to one when Clark holed out from just short of the green for birdie on the last and there was still work to be done when Garcia drove into the trees there.
He had to chip out and was still not on the green in three, but got down in two more for an 18 under par total of 262. Clark was second and American Bud Cauley alone in third one further back.
"I am proud of the way I played coming in," Garcia said. Olazabal now knows nine of his 10 automatic qualifiers - Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Graeme McDowell, Paul Lawrie, Francesco Molinari, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Garcia and Peter Hanson.
The final spot is between Kaymer - not in the field at Gleneagles - Colsaerts, Lynn and Cabrera Bello.
Garcia, who failed to make the 2010 side and acted as one of Colin Montgomerie's assistants, added: "Obviously I won a couple of times last year in Europe, but it's been a while here (in the United States) and it feels great.
"I hit some really good shots and made some nice four or five-footers when I had to. I'm very happy about the way the week has gone."
Collated final-round scores (USA unless stated, par 70):
262Sergio Garcia (Spa) 67 63 66 66
264Tim Clark (Rsa) 63 67 67 67
265Bud Cauley 66 65 66 68
266Chad Campbell 71 64 65 66, Jimmy Walker 66 62 71 67, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 62 68 68 68
267Jason Dufner 68 67 63 69, Bill Haas 68 65 67 67, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 67 65 69 66
268John Merrick 66 69 67 66, Davis Love III 67 66 66 69, Troy Matteson 64 68 68 68, Harris English 66 64 68 70
269Brendon De Jonge 68 68 67 66, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 67 68 66 68, Scott Stallings 64 70 67 68, Matthew Every 65 66 68 70, Richard H. Lee 66 69 65 69
270Justin Leonard 68 68 64 70, Bobby Gates 69 67 65 69, John Huh (Kor) 69 65 69 67
271Chris Kirk 66 69 69 67, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 67 68 68 68, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 67 71 66 67, Rocco Mediate 70 65 68 68, Graham Delaet (Can) 69 67 67 68, Webb Simpson 66 63 71 71
272Rodney Pampling (Aus) 68 66 70 68, Tim Herron 76 61 67 68, Brandt Snedeker 67 67 68 70
273Nick Watney 66 69 70 68, Kyle Thompson 69 67 68 69, Will Claxton 69 66 65 73, Patrick Cantlay 70 68 66 69, Heath Slocum 68 67 67 71, Charles Howell III 67 69 71 66
274Jeff Overton 69 69 67 69, Gary Christian (Eng) 67 70 67 70, Kevin Streelman 68 66 68 72, D.A. Points 68 68 67 71, Kyle Reifers 67 72 66 69, Russell Knox (Sco) 68 68 69 69, Josh Teater 67 71 69 67, Ryan Moore 71 68 68 67, Y.E. Yang (Kor) 67 69 69 69
275Kevin Stadler 73 65 68 69, Billy Horschel 69 67 66 73, Nick O'Hern (Aus) 68 71 67 69, Kevin Kisner 68 71 70 66
276Alexandre Rocha (Bra) 68 68 69 71, Jerry Kelly 72 67 69 68, Dicky Pride 69 68 67 72, Jamie Donaldson (Wal) 68 66 71 71, Tommy Gainey 66 67 68 75
277David Mathis 63 71 73 70, Jonas Blixt (Swe) 72 67 67 71, Derek Lamely 69 68 70 70
278Charlie Wi (Kor) 72 67 70 69, Scott Dunlap 70 69 67 72, Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 67 70 70 71, Blake Adams 67 71 67 73, Chez Reavie 67 69 71 71
279Troy Kelly 71 68 69 71
280Billy Mayfair 69 70 74 67
281Jeff Maggert 68 71 74 68
282Brendan Steele 72 65 71 74, Arjun Atwal (Ind) 66 69 75 72, Cameron Beckman 73 66 69 74, Tom Pernice Jnr. 70 68 74 70
283Ben Kohles 72 67 70 74, Camilo Villegas (Col) 72 67 70 74, Stuart Appleby (Aus) 67 71 69 76
285Chris Stroud 68 70 72 75, Jason Kokrak 66 69 77 73
290Paul Casey (Eng) 68 70 77 75
