CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Only one thing went according to script Sunday at the Wachovia Championship. The winner strolled up to the 18th green with no worries, the tournament all but decided.
The shock was seeing Vijay Singh hoisting the trophy.
The celebration was supposed to be for Sergio Garcia, who had a six-shot lead going into the final round, a margin only four other players in PGA Tour history had squandered, none since Greg Norman in the 1996 Masters.
Singh might have been the only guy who saw it coming.
"Sometimes it's harder to play with a big lead," Singh said. "You don't want to lose the tournament. If the guys are catching up . . . you start to get a little nervous. But we played well."
Singh took advantage of a record-tying collapse by Garcia and an untimely mistake by Jim Furyk to win the Wachovia Championship on the fourth playoff hole at Quail Hollow.
After a steamy day of shocking shifts in momentum and clutch birdies by Furyk, Singh only needed a par on the 18th hole in the playoff to capture his third victory of the year.
Furyk made two birdies on the final three holes, including a 7-footer on the 18th to get into the playoff. But the third time he played the 18th was his downfall — he pulled his tee shot into the creek, took a penalty drop and laid up, then saw his fourth shot carom off the flag and into the rough.
"Just getting that close and not winning, sometimes it's a lot worse than finishing fifth," Furyk said.
Imagine how Garcia felt.
First, he squandered his six-shot lead in 12 holes. Then he got the lead back with consecutive birdies, only to slip into a tie when he went for the pin on the peninsula-green at the par-3 17th, went into the water and made bogey.
He was eliminated on the first extra hole by three-putting from 45 feet, missing a 6-footer for par.
"They say you learn more from your losses than your wins," Garcia said after closing with a 72. "And I've got a lot from this week to learn."
Overlooked in his collapse was spectacular play from Singh and Furyk, who each closed with a 6-under 66. All three finished at 12-under 276 before heading into the third straight playoff on the PGA Tour. Singh was involved in two of them, and both times, his opponent went into the water off the tee.
MICHELOB ULTRA OPEN: At Williamsburg, Va., Annika Sorenstam's winning streak ended with one miserable hole.
After climbing the leaderboard Sunday morning, Sorenstam's chances for a record sixth straight victory ended with a double-bogey on the third hole of the final round at the Michelob Ultra Open. She finished at 2-over 286, 10 strokes behind winner Cristie Kerr.
Sorenstam closed with a 3-over 74 and finished tied for 12th.
Kerr earned her fifth career victory, but the first when Sorenstam was in the field. She shot 68-72 for her two rounds Sunday and finished at 8-under 276 to earn the $330,000 first-place share.
Jill McGill finished five strokes back at 3-under 281.
ITALIAN OPEN: At Milan, Steve Webster won his first PGA European Tour event, closing with five birdies on the last 10 holes for a 4-under 68 and a three stroke victory at the Italian Open.
Webster, a five-time runner-up on tour, finished at 18 under at the Castello di Tolcinasco Golf Club.
Bradley Dredge (69), Richard Finch (70) and Anders Hansen (66) tied for second three shots back.
THE REX HOSPITAL OPEN: At Raleigh, N.C., Monday qualifier Eric Axley won his first Nationwide Tour title, shooting a pair of 4-under 67s in a 36-hole finish for a two-stroke victory over Troy Matteson in The Rex Hospital Open.