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LEFTY'S LAMMENT: Phil Mickelson could have claimed a spot in Sunday's playoff by making a birdie at the 72nd hole, but his 20-foot putt stayed above the hole.
The miss probably cost him the Vardon Trophy, as well.
The award for the lowest adjusted scoring average on the PGA Tour was likely locked up by Sergio Garcia, who dropped his average from 69.53 to 69.40 by claiming a spot in the playoff. Even though he lost to Camilo Villegas on the first extra hole, the Spaniard is projected to beat out Mickelson's average, which improved from 69.52 to 69.42.
Most of the top players shut it down in the States after the Tour Championship, so it's unlikely anyone else will bump off Garcia before the Vardon Trophy is handed out.
``There were some ups and downs,'' Mickelson said. ``The plus side for me was that I played more consistent this year than I have in the past. But I didn't putt like I did this week. I putted great this week, and I need to do that more, because it's a lot of fun seeing those putts go in.''
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GARCIA COLLAPSE: This wasn't the first time Sergio Garcia blew a 54-hole lead.
His drought dates to the 2005 Wachovia Championship, when he had a six-shot lead going into the last round and shot 72, losing in a three-way playoff to Vijay Singh. That tied the PGA Tour record for the biggest final-round collapse, matching Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters.
A year later, Garcia had a three-shot lead over Steve Stricker going into the final round of the 2007 British Open at Carnoustie, only to make bogey on the last hole and shoot 73, losing in a playoff to Padraig Harrington.
Garcia was three shots clear of Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim going into the final round of the Tour Championship, but his lead was gone after seven holes, and he got back only briefly after a par on the 16th.
The common thread of those collapses? He lost all of them in a playoff, this one to Camilo Villegas.
``I let everybody come back into the game,'' Garcia said. ``I don't want to take anything away from Camilo. I think he played an awesome round. To shoot 66 today was great. But I still felt like I let it go a little bit.''
