PARAMUS, NEW JERSEY // Vijay Singh of Fiji won the Barclays Classic yesterday on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff against Spain's Sergio Garcia and American Kevin Sutherland at Ridgewood Country Club. Singh, a three-times winner of this event when it was played across the Hudson River at Westchester Country Club, matched birdies with Garcia on the first playoff hole, the 18th, as Sutherland was eliminated.
Garcia curled a 27-footer inside the left edge for his birdie and appeared poised for victory until Singh drained his 26-footer from the opposite side of the cup. The 45-year-old birdied the par-five 17th to close out world number four Garcia, who hit his tee shot into the left rough, punched out into the right rough and narrowly missed a birdie chip from short of the green. The three players finished the regulation 72 holes locked at eight-under-par 276, one shot better than Australia's Mathew Goggin, the 2003 British Open winner Ben Curtis and his fellow-American Kevin Streelman, the overnight leader.
Singh shot a final-round 70, as did Garcia. Sutherland, 44, seeking his first stroke play title in 14 years on the PGA tour, posted a 68 on Sunday to join the playoff. Three-times major champion Singh collected a first prize of $1.26 million (Dh4,628,000) in the opening event of the four-tournament, PGA Tour FedExCup playoff series. Tied at six-under-par 278 were Britons Paul Casey and Martin Laird, Canada's Mike Weir and Americans Justin Leonard and Nicholas Thompson.
*Reuters