VALDERRAMA, 1 November 2004 — Britain’s Ian Poulter beat his Ryder Cup teammate Sergio Garcia of Spain at the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the Volvo Masters yesterday.
Both players shot one-under-par 70 final rounds to total seven-under-par 277, a stroke better than overnight leader Alastair Forsyth of Britain.
Garcia, who missed a seven-foot birdie putt on the last which subsequently made the playoff necessary, bogeyed the first extra hole.
It was a timely win worth $790,000 for Poulter who left it until the last event of the season to pull off his sixth tour victory.
Three birdies around the turn put Poulter in charge but his bogey on the 13th dropped him back into a three-way tie on top of the leaderboard with Garcia and Forsyth.
Forsyth’s bogey on 16 then eventually left him a stroke shy of the shootout as he carded a 74.
At the first extra hole, Garcia blocked himself out in the right trees and then could not find the green in three, while Poulter, who had given himself a tough shot in, ran his ball to the fringe and got up and down for his par.
While it was Poulter’s first success of the year, Garcia missed out on a chance of back-to-back victories on home soil, having clinched the Mallorca Classic title two weeks ago.
Garcia had already won twice on the US Tour in shootouts and said: “I’ve been fortunate this year and won two playoffs in the States but unfortunately I didn’t do it this time.
Poulter extended his record of winning at least one title every year to five since he joined the tour in 2000. His victory could now elevate him into the world’s top 50 from his 55th place at the start of the tournament.
Singh Takes Lead at Chrysler
In Palm Harbor, Florida, world No. 1 Vijay Singh shot a four-under-par 67 on Saturday and took the lead of the Chrysler Championship after three rounds.
Fiji’s Singh, who finished on 12-under 201 at the Westin Copperhead Course, leads Tommy Armour III by one stroke.
Sweden’s Jesper Parnevik and Kirk Triplett share third place on 203, while Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal and Tom Carter are joint fifth on 205.
Second-round co-leader Jeff Sluman slipped to a 74 and joins Tim Herron, former PGA Championship winner David Toms, Sweden’s Carl Pettersson and Australia’s Robert Allenby in a tie for seventh on 206.
Singh began the round two shots behind the leaders, Jonathan Byrd and Sluman, and stumbled early, making bogeys at the second and third holes before he bounced back with three birdies on the font nine, then three more coming home.
Grace Park Cheers Home Fans With LPGA Victory
In Jeju, South Korea, Grace Park of South Korea won an LPGA Tour tournament yesterday, firing a seven-under-par 65 in the final round of the $1.35-million CJ Nine Bridges Classic.
Park finished at 16-under-par 200 after three rounds held on the South Korean resort island of Jeju. It was her first LPGA victory at home.
“I am happier than I imagined,” said Park.
Park produced eight birdies against one bogey to take a two-stroke lead Sunday, widening the scoring difference between her and a second-winner group in the 6,724-yard, par-72 course.
Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam, the world No. 1, and her compatriot Carin Koch, a first-round leader, were tied for second at five-under-par 67. Both finished at 11-under-par 205.
Park, who won the Craft Nabisco Championship in March and has 10 top-three finishes this year, has spearheaded a powerful contingent of Korean players in the women’s tour.
Defending champion Shi-Hyun Ahn and Jang Jeong, both of South Korea, and Mexico’s Lorena Ochoa, the 2003 Rookie of the Year who has two wins on the Tour this season, were tied for fourth after finishing at 10-under-par 206.
Yong Kim of South Korea came next to finish at nine-under-par 207.
South Korea’s Soo-Yun Kang was tied with Jill McGill and a second-round leader Kate Golden, both of the United States, for the eighth after finishing at eight-under-par 208.
