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The sky cleared just in time for Jeff Overton.

Teeing off on what became a bright late afternoon after a cold, soggy morning, Overton shot a 5-under 67 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the Turning Stone Resort Championship, the second stop on the PGA Tour’s Fall Series.


Overton, who started at the 10th hole, made three birdies on the front side to take a one-shot lead over Michael Allen and Steve Allan.

Tag Ridings, Carlos Franco, and Jason Day were tied for fourth at 69. Another shot back were Briny Baird, Bo Van Pelt, Kent Jones, Mark Hensby, Tommy Gainey, Sterling Scott, Paul Claxton and Troy Matteson, who had a bogey-free round.

Defending Turning Stone champ Steve Flesch, a black knit cap pulled tightly over his ears in brisk conditions that never rose much above 50 degrees, shot a 74.

The inaugural Turning Stone Championship last September was played under near ideal conditions with little wind and temperatures in the 80s. At the start of play Thursday, it was 48 degrees with intermittent rain and a steady 20 mph wind, a day to watch Canada geese fly south, not little white balls soaring where they weren’t meant to go. Only 27 players broke par.

“It can tire you out, and it’ll get you towards the end of the round,” said Ridings, who teed off in early morning. “I think it helps more than anything starting the round. You get rid of jitters and you get rid of wayward thoughts because you have to concentrate on that stuff.”

When the sun broke through, it made playing more bearable.

“My last six holes, it definitely played a little bit easier,” said the 25-year-old Overton. “The morning was so nasty. The wind was just howling.”

Allen, who finished second to Flesch last year, finished his round wearing a golf shirt and was smiling despite having left 100-degree weather at his Arizona home to come to upstate New York.

The conditions made the 7,482-yard Atunyote Golf Club course play much longer and promised to make it difficult to match Flesch’s winning total of 18 under in 2007. “It’s totally different,” Allen said. “It’s playing a lot more difficult.”

The adverse conditions didn’t prevent some great shots, though. Day holed out from 117 yards for eagle at the par-4 14th hole, Franco chipped in from 20 feet for eagle at the par-5 fifth hole and also drained a 70-foot birdie putt at the par-3 sixth hole, and Van Pelt hit a hybrid from 235 yards to 15 feet and also made eagle at No. 5.

“Wow, this is tough talking because I can’t believe I shot 3 under,” said the 43-year-old Franco, who birdied three of the four par 3s. “The day’s conditions are really, really difficult. Every shot is difficult. It’s cold and your hands, you lose the feeling, and the wind, it didn’t stop, then it rain and stop and rain and stop. That’s very difficult to focus.”

Despite the inclement weather, the greens remained firm, perfectly smooth and lightning quick.

“I mean, I was pretty lucky,” said Allan, who had five birdies to go with one bogey. “One of my birdies I was actually in the trees. I had a go at getting it through the tree, which got it on the green, and then holed a really long, like probably a 70-footer, which was the first birdie of day. That kind of got me going.”

Of the leaders, Van Pelt might have been wearing the biggest smile. A former star in college at Oklahoma State, he was well-versed in playing in difficult conditions.

“I like it when it’s windy. The tougher the better,” Van Pelt said. “We had plenty of days like this in Stillwater. You knew it was going to be bad for everybody, so you just try to have a good attitude.

“But it wasn’t easy. It was pretty darn cold and nasty this morning. I don’t think anybody’s got an advantage. I think the best advantage you have is if you’ve got a good attitude. You get a bad attitude in weather like this, and you might as well just go home.”

Home is where Brad Faxon has been for more than a year, and he could have picked a different tournament to start his comeback from surgery on his right knee last December. But Turning Stone is within driving distance of his Rhode Island home, and he was glad he made the trip, even after shooting a 76.

“It’s hard to stay focused,” said Faxon, who still has trouble squatting to line up putts. “I’m still a little bit timid, don’t think I’m swinging as hard as I can. But I thought today was OK. It’s a good story just getting back and playing 18 holes.”

The top 125 players on the money list at the end of the season will retain fully exempt status to play on the PGA Tour in 2009.

That makes this event, the richest in the Fall Series with a $6 million purse, oh-so-meaningful. Day is ranked 129th in money with just under $600,000, three spots ahead of Allen, Overton is 142nd, Ridings 152nd, Franco 163rd, Hensby 164th, Allan 167th, and Jones 185th. First place pays $1.08 million, which would vault the 20-year-old Day near the top 50 and the others inside the top 100.

“You get to this point in the season, you’ve got to play well,” Allen said. “Your job’s on the line.

Ji-Yai Shin became a household name back home in South Korea and even somewhat in Japan after she won the Women’s British Open in August.

Now, the 20-year-old Shin is interested in raising her profile in the United States—with regular success on the LPGA Tour.

She shot a 5-under 67 on Thursday to take the first-day lead in the Samsung World Championship, topping Paula Creamer’s 68 that featured a birdie on 17 following a bogey on the previous hole.

“Everybody knows me as the British Open champion,” Shin said. “In Korea, the players say: ‘Don’t come back to Korea. Go play in America.”’

Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam were only 17 minutes into their rounds and on the second fairway as the last twosome to start when the horn sounded and play was suspended for 26 minutes because of dense fog. It was eerie at times in the fog, with the crash of ocean waves serving as background noise as players searched for the flag before they hit.

Ochoa, the world No. 1 and two-time defending Samsung champion, and five-time winner Sorenstam each missed tough birdie putts on 18 to finish in a group at 69, two strokes off the lead.

“That never happened before,” Ochoa said of the fog. “For sure we had to stop. You couldn’t see the flag. It was kind of a weird start. After that I got a couple of birdies and got back on track.”

Both Ochoa and Sorenstam received warm ovations at the first tee. Ochoa was even through the front nine with two bogeys before chipping in from 35 yards for eagle on No. 10 to move to 2 under. She high-fived her caddie after the clutch shot.

Creamer was held up at the sixth tee, where the fog was at its thickest on the Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay Golf Links.

“We were right in the middle—seven, eight and nine were fine,” she said. “I thought, ‘We can’t do this. This rough is so thick. If you miss it a little bit it could be a lost ball.’ So, we just stopped. It wasn’t worth it. I’m glad we waited. We couldn’t see down our fairway. … I was feeling good about how I was playing. I didn’t want to go in. I had the momentum going.”

Shin was delayed on No. 10 and didn’t mind the break after playing a fast front nine in under 2 hours.

“Maybe it was helpful for me,” she said. “It gave me a little extra time.”

Yani Tseng, who is leading the Rookie of the Year race and ranked third, also had a 69. She played with her right arm wrapped with a special tape because of nagging elbow tendinitis. At 19, Tseng is the youngest in the elite 20-player field this week. The first day on the 6,450-yard course was warm and breezy alongside the Pacific Ocean—with picturesque views in the late afternoon once the fog lifted for good.

Mist swirled above the green on the opening hole and by No. 2, Ochoa and Sorenstam could hardly see where their ball traveled let alone watch it land. The situation wasn’t considered dangerous, just more frustrating because of the lack of visibility.

Sorenstam entertained the friendly crowd during the delay by plopping down on a ridge off the fairway and above a bunker and trying to blow grass between her lips to make it squeak. Someone else did it behind her and Sorenstam finally mastered the move.

“All right, Annika!”

She acknowledged them and chuckled.

Ochoa had her share of fans from her native Mexico in the large gallery, some carrying their country’s flag.

“Lorena, mi amor!” one supporter yelled—“Lorena, my love.”

“Buena suerte!” a young girl called out—“Good luck!”

Sorenstam, making her farewell tour this season, has won a record five Samsungs but acknowledged coming into this event she isn’t playing her best golf. Still, she birdied Nos. 15 and 16 to stay high on the leaderboard.

Creamer and Angela Stanford (69) were the only ones to birdie the par-4, 394-yard first hole. Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb and Suzann Pettersen each bogeyed the opening hole and all three finished the day over par.

Creamer—who grew up in nearby Pleasanton and still puts added pressure on herself to do well in Northern California—also birdied the 500-yard, par-5 eighth hole. She pitched from 35 yards out to a foot of the pin.

“I hit my irons great today,” Creamer said. “I gave myself so many opportunities. My speed putting was probably the best I’ve ever had in a round of golf. I’ll take 4-under. I’ll take where I’m at. We have three days left. That’s a lot of golf.”

Celebrities and professionals tee it up for Autism Speaks at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Celebrities and Professionals turned the old golfing adage of ‘drive for show, putt for dough' on its head this week when they teed it up at St Andrews for a special fundraising event using Callaway Golf longest and straightest ever driver, the new FT-iQ.

Players participating in practice rounds for this week's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship were offered the chance to hit the extraordinary new driver from the 18th tee of The Old Course at St Andrews and, for every yard gained, raised money for Autism Speaks, a charity close to the heart of Callaway Golf Staff Professional Ernie Els and his family.

The total cumulative distance during the ‘Longest Ever Drive Competition' was an amazing 56,498 yards - more than 32 miles - raising an incredible £18,000.

Hugh Grant, Johan Cruyff, Ronan Keating, Shane Warne, Franz Klammer, Sir Ian Botham and Tim Henman were among the stars who hit fund-raising drives up the 18th fairway.

Callaway Golf Staff Professional Ernie Els, whose son Ben has been diagnosed with autism, said: "I am very grateful to everyone who took part in the competition and helped raise awareness and funds for Autism Speaks. I'd also like to thank Callaway Golf, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and the team on the 18th tee for making this happen."

"Everyone's enthusiasm to get behind the ‘FTiQ Longest Ever Drive Challenge ' has been outstanding," said Jeff Dodds, Callaway Golf Director of Marketing, presenting a cheque to Ernie Els for Autism Speaks. "Thank you to everyone who took part - and hitting such long drives for such a good cause."

Ernie Els has come so close to winning the Dunhill Links Championship so often that he feels it’s about time he pulls it off.

To do it this week on three great Scottish links courses, the South African will need to get his confidence back.

“I’m working on that at the moment,” Els said Wednesday.

He’s finished second twice at the Dunhill Links Championship, and finished in the top 10 three other times in the past seven years.

Ten members of Europe’s Ryder Cup team—minus Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter — are in the 172-man field at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. Darren Clarke and Colin Montgomerie are also in the field.

“I’d crawl over to this tournament,” said Padraig Harrington, the British Open and PGA Championship champion.

Harrington said he is fighting fatigue as he pursues a third title after victories in 2002 and 2006.

Harrington has won three major titles, the same as Els, who won the last at the 2002 British Open following victories at the 1994 and ‘97 U.S. Open.

“I know what he’s going through,” Els said of Harrington. “He just wants to go home and reflect on what he’s done. He wants to sit back and watch the video and really take it in, because since the Open he has had to play the world championship events, then the PGA, the FedEx Cup and the Ryder Cup.”

Els said he’s getting tired of finishing second at Dunhill.

“I’ve had chances,” Els said. “Paul Lawrie made a huge putt against me one year and Lee Westwood beat me down the stretch in 2003. Then last year I putted into a bunker at the 15th on the last day.

“Yeah, obviously I would like to win here, like everyone.”

Now down to No. 8 in the rankings, Els hasn’t been satisfied with his year so far.

“I had a very bad Masters and missed the cut. Then I actually had a very good U.S. Open until the 15th hole on the final day. I made a triple there,” he said. “I felt that was my best chance to win a major because I hit the ball as well as I have all year. But I was clueless on the greens.”

One of the Ryder Cup players, Justin Rose, was second to Nick Dougherty last year on his way to winning the Volvo Masters and the Order of Merit.

Rose said he is still trying to digest the Ryder Cup disappointment, even though he won three out of four points against the Americans.

“A team victory is the whole goal and it’s a hollow victory when you play well yourself and the team loses,” Rose said. “But I made sacrifices to play in it and they were worthwhile because it was an amazing experience and a great atmosphere to play in.”

Annika Sorenstam is headed into the stretch run of her final LPGA Tour season still exuding the same competitive drive that has carried her this far.

“I’m not a social golfer,” she said matter-of-factly Wednesday when asked about what she’ll do once through on tour.

Getting married, motherhood and some down time without clubs in hand will be more her style soon. Maybe a trip back here to relax and use the spa in the luxe Ritz-Carlton resort. Enjoy a little high-class food and wine.

But not just yet.

“I try not to think about it,” she said. “I am still so competitive. This is what I have done for over 20 years. I’ve done this for a very long time. It’s just something that’s in me.”

Sorenstam, who turns 38 next Thursday, has won a record five Samsung World Championships—and the Swede would like nothing more than to go out on top this week in her last one.

That will take beating two-time defending champion and world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa. Sorenstam would like to finish atop the money list in her last year, too, and as Player of the Year. Both of those things also would mean passing Ochoa.

And Sorenstam is realistic.

“That challenge is a little tougher than I anticipated starting,” Sorenstam said Wednesday following her pro-am round at the Samsung. “I got off to a good start but haven’t played really well. Pretty much since my announcement, I’ve been nonstop. I’ve been traveling a lot, playing a lot of tournaments. The results haven’t been there to put me in that situation.”

Sorenstam and Ochoa will be the favorites—fan favorites, too—when they tee off together Thursday in the first round of the elite, 20-player field on the 6,450-yard, par-72 Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay Golf Links. A year ago, Ochoa beat Mi Hyun Kim by four strokes in the event at Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert. It was the seventh of her eight 2007 victories.

Ochoa, from Mexico, has seven tour titles this season and Sorenstam three. Both are seeking the $250,000 winner’s purse here.

“Annika, of course, has played many years,” said Ochoa, the winner Sunday in Alabama. “I have so much respect for her. But I don’t want her to beat me. We’ll see at the end of the season where we both are.”

They each like the challenging course, with its five par-5s rather than the typical four and thick grass that makes for tough chipping.

“I am hitting my driver good,” said Ochoa, who recently spent time back home resting and tweaking her swing. “That’s important this week. I’m going to make sure I can get it in the right direction. I think hitting the fairways is probably going to be the most important thing.”

That, and staying focused to avoid the distractions of the spectacular ocean views on the Northern California coast just south of San Francisco.

“The good thing, if you hit a bad shot, it’s nice to look at the ocean and breathe,” Ochoa said. “It’s beautiful.”

Yani Tseng also should be high on the leaderboard. She is the leader for LPGA Rookie of the Year race and ranked No. 3 in the world. She is the youngest player in the field at 19, and clearly thrilled—not to mention downright giddy — to be among top players.

She and Ochoa often bet $50 for both most birdies and lowest round.

“I’m very happy to be betting with Lorena,” Tseng said, chuckling. “Last tournament we had two rounds together. I tell myself, ‘This is very important.’ I want to beat her. Every time I make a par I just watch her and smile. We are good friends and we are going to bet until maybe we both retire.”

So, Sorenstam isn’t the only one targeting Ochoa this week—and Ochoa realizes the depth in her sport is only increasing by the day and by the tournament.

“Right now she is the No. 1 player in the world,” said Paula Creamer, raised in nearby Pleasanton. “Lorena is a very confident player, but there are so many people out there trying to challenge that. I think that’s great. I don’t think we’ve had that before in women’s golf.”

The tournament had been at Bighorn the past four years. This move gives Northern California consecutive weeks of women’s golf. The Longs Drugs Challenge is next week in nearby Danville.

Half Moon Bay, designed by Arthur Hills in 1997, becomes the 15th course to host the Samsung.

Steve Flesch is back to defend his title at the Turning Stone Resort Championship with a simple goal.

“I just hope I shoot 18 under again,” said Flesch, who won the inaugural Turning Stone Championship a year ago at 18-under 270. “Playing the last hole with a three-shot lead is always nice.”

It was Flesch’s fourth career victory on the PGA Tour and marked the third straight time he’d won after holding the 54-hole lead. Returning to defend was a no-brainer for Flesch, who this year tied for fifth at the Masters and was sixth at the PGA Championship. The tournament offers a $6 million purse, largest in the Fall Series, and a payday of just over $1 million.

Last year’s victory vaulted Flesch from 70th on the money list to 25th and earned him a spot in the U.S. Open. He’s ranked 71st entering this week.

“If I don’t play well on a golf course, I’m not going to come,” Flesch said. “The course suits everybody’s game.”

The tournament begins Thursday and is being held a bit later this year due to the Ryder Cup. Last year’s tournament was in late September, and the weather was spectacular, with temperatures in the 80s, clear skies, and little wind. Forecasters were calling for highs this week in the 50s with showers predicted for the first three days.

“Two weeks later makes a big difference in weather,” Flesch said. “The course is totally different. It’s a lot softer.”

The Fall Series decides the final money leaders list. The top 125 players retain fully exempt status to play on the PGA Tour in 2009, and the fall events determine Nos. 31 through 125. (The top 30 are decided through the FedEx Cup playoffs.)

The Turning Stone Resort Championship will feature a field of 132 players competing at Atunyote Golf Club, a 7,482-yard, par-72 layout. The final four spots in the field were determined through an 18-hole qualifier on Monday at the resort’s Kaluhyat Golf Club, and two-time U.S. Open winner Lee Janzen was among the foursome that made it.

They will face some stiff competition. The event has attracted 13 players in the top 50 on the PGA money list and six players who made it to the Tour Championship.

One who isn’t in the top 50 is Davis Love III, a 19-time winner on the PGA Tour who’s struggled this year. Turning Stone chief executive officer Ray Halbritter had tried to lure Love here before, but this time Love has a good reason for visiting upstate New York.

Love earned a five-year exemption for his victory at the 2003 Players Championship and a two-year exemption for his last victory, the 2006 Chrysler Classic of Greensboro. But his best finish in 17 events this year was a tie for 19th at the British Open, and he ranks 155th on the money list, putting him in danger of losing fully exempt status.

The field also includes four sponsor’s exemptions: 50-year-old Joey Sindelar, a native of Horseheads, N.Y. who has five top-10s and ranks 25th on the money list in his first year on the Champions Tour; reigning U.S. Amateur champion Danny Lee; tournament ambassador Notah Begay III; and Ryder Cup assistant captain Olin Browne.

Lee said he expects to turn pro sometime next year but has his sights set on the task at hand.

“I have a good feeling about this tournament,” Lee said. “I’m not just here for making the cut. Hopefully, if I play well enough I can win. That’s my goal.” ^Divots: The players in the top 50 on the money list playing here include Robert Allenby, Woody Austin, Briny Baird, Brian Gay, Dudley Hart, Ryuji Imada, Steve Marino, Sean O’Hair, Rod Pampling, Carl Pettersson, Jeff Quinney, Nicholas Thompson and D.J. Trahan. Last year’s event had nine players in the top 50.

Exhausted double 2008 major champion Padraig Harrington said on Tuesday he would crawl to this week’s Dunhill Links Championship as he aims to win Europe’s order of merit for a second time.

In his first event back after a disappointing Ryder Cup, the Irishman is aiming to extend his lead at the top of the European money list after Briton Lee Westwood closed the gap with a runner-up place at last week’s British Masters.

“I would never not be here. I’d crawl over to this tournament,” Harrington told a news conference, adding that blood tests revealed he has been badly run down.

“I was low in antioxidants, my white blood cells were too active, basically showing that I’m fatigued.”

The British Open and U.S. PGA Championship holder is going all out to add the 545,811 euros ($781,400) first prize to his 2,350,556 euro haul and distance him from fellow Ryder Cup man Westwood who lies less than a quarter of million euros behind.

“I would be here (St Andrews) full stop but I think that’s (order of merit) the prime reason why I’m trying a little bit harder this week because I know this is a good chance for me,” the 2006 order of merit winner said.

“I’ve got two tournaments left, this and the Volvo Masters. I think I’ve got to play really well in one of them in order to win the order of merit. If I can win one of the two, I think that more or less guarantees me the order of merit.”

The triple major winner is anxious to get the job done quickly as this week’s competition is played over three of his favoured courses in rotation - St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.

Harrington won the tournament over the three in 2002 and 2006 and captured his first major title at the 2007 British Open in Carnoustie.

“The Volvo Masters is on a golf course that’s really hard work for me. These courses aren’t. These really suit me, while Valderrama (Volvo Masters venue) doesn’t necessarily suit me.”

Ten of Europe’s losing Ryder Cup team - only Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter are absent - feature in the event which starts on Thursday.

The European Tour tournament committee decided on Tuesday to increase the number of mandatory events players need to play on the European tour from 11 to 12.

The extra event, to be played on European soil, is not aimed to deter the influx of U.S. based players but introduced due to the size of the tour, committee chairman Thomas Bjorn said.

World number two Phil Mickelson and number three Vijay Singh have said they are considering joining next season’s tour which culminates with the multi-million dollar Race to Dubai finale.

“We think that with the number of tournaments on our schedule it was time to put it up by one,” Bjorn told reporters.

“It is not a big ask to play 12 events, especially when a lot of the guys in question play four majors and three world golf championships.”

The Dane added that upping the tour membership criterion to 13 or 14 events could still happen in the future.

“Twelve was always the preferred number but we will keep it under review,” Bjorn said.

The decision may scupper Mickelson and Singh’s plans with participation in five European evens now required in addition to the four majors and three World Golf Championship (WGC) events to ensure a shot at the Dubai $1.6 million first prize.

Triple major champion Padraig Harrington was in favour of making it easier for leading players to play next year, rather than harder.

“I think it has been shown over the years that the better the standard the better the field and if we are attracting the likes of Vijay and Phil it’s basically a bigger pot for everybody,” the Irishman said.

“We’ve never had that inflow from the States and it would be nice to get them into the events.”

Harrington added that rather than resentment by some players who would feel U.S. Tour players might be ‘cherry picking’ they should appreciate the other side of the coin.

“It will increase sponsorships and there will be more to trickle down to those guys who think they are losing out.”

Briton Lee Westwood, second behind Harrington in the European money list, also favoured the arrival of new players.

“Phil is number two in the world and Vijay is high up there, so the world ranking points come along as well. It benefits the tour and everybody on the tour. It’s great to have the top players in the world playing this tour,” he said last weekend.

Tournament host Tiger Woods has announced a strong field featuring five of the world’s top 10 players for the year-ending Chevron World Challenge.

The 16-man line-up includes Fiji’s Vijay Singh (ranked third), British Open and PGA champion Padraig Harrington of Ireland (fourth), Americans Anthony Kim (sixth) and Jim Furyk (10th) and Colombian Camilo Villegas (seventh).

World number one Woods, however, will be a conspicuous absentee from the field, having shut down his 2008 campaign in mid-June after winning the U.S. Open to have reconstructive knee surgery.

“Unfortunately I can’t play that incredible golf course,” the 14-times major winner said during a teleconference on Monday. “I can only cheer from the sidelines in a cart.

“So it will be a different kind of week for me, a lot of eating, a lot of sitting in there and grubbing.”

Asked how his rehabilitation was going, the 32-year-old American replied: “No matter how much you try and do, you really can’t speed up that process.

“That puts me into January. And unfortunately, I can’t rotate; I can’t practise on that leg until then. That’s just a natural healing process of any ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), for the graft to take.

“As far as getting back next year, I’m really focused on trying to get my body healthy for so that I can compete at a high level and get to where I can compete down the stretch in events again.”

Woods, a four-times winner of his own tournament, was delighted with the quality of this year’s field.

“Hosting the 10th year of this tournament is special,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to being back in Southern California to watch this stellar field compete.”

The $5.75 million event will be held at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California from Dec. 18-21.

Proceeds from the invitational event go toward Tiger Woods Foundation projects and the Tiger Woods Learning Center in Anaheim.

The full field is: Singh, Villegas, Kim, Steve Stricker, Furyk, Harrington, Fred Couples, Paul Casey, Boo Weekley, Hunter Mahan, K.J. Choi, Kenny Perry, Justin Leonard, Mike Weir, Luke Donald and Stephen Ames.

A two-putt par to win the Tour Championship in a playoff was worth an extra $1.5 million to Camilo Villegas.

A 7-iron to a scary pin on the 71st hole, under more pressure than he has ever faced?

That was invaluable.

Villegas overcame a five-shot deficit with six birdies on his final 11 holes of regulation—the last one after going at a dangerous flag on the 17th—and won the Tour Championship on the first extra hole against Sergio Garcia for his second straight victory.

“Winning is awesome,” Villegas said after closing with a 4-under 66.

The 26-year-old Colombian, who had gone 85 starts on the PGA Tour without winning, picked up his second in a row with a finish that brought the gallery to life on a sunny afternoon at East Lake.

In a four-man race coming to the final holes, Villegas caught Garcia with a 7-iron from 184 yards to 12 feet on the 17th, then twice hit beautiful lag putts from 45 feet for par on the 233-yard 18th—once in regulation to finish at 7-under 273, then in the playoff to win.

“Probably the shot of the tournament there,” Villegas said. “There’s a great chance the ball is going to plug if it comes up short in that bunker, and a yard long and it’s in the water. So it’s just hit and beg. It happened to be just fine.”

Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson each shot 69, and each had a chance to join the playoff. Kim, playing in the second-to-last group with Villegas, missed from 30 feet. In the final group, Mickelson missed his birdie putt from 20 feet.

Garcia, who blew a 54-hole lead of at least three shots for the third straight time, also had a 20-foot birdie putt to win in regulation. He didn’t give himself much of a chance in the playoff when his 4-iron came up 30 yards short and to the right. His flop shot over a bunker stayed in the collar of the green, and a chip to extend the playoff came up well short.

“I doubted myself too much early on, and it cost me,” said Garcia, who squandered a six-shot lead in 2005 at the Wachovia Championship and a three-shot lead last year in the British Open at Carnoustie.

The consolation prize might be the Vardon Trophy for lowest adjusted scoring average. Garcia came into the Tour Championship trailing Mickelson by one-hundredth of a point, and wound up at 69.40. Mickelson finished at 69.42.

Tiger Woods, who had season-ending knee surgery after winning the U.S. Open, did not play the required 60 rounds to be eligible for the award, which will not be official until the tour’s Fall Series ends the first week of November.

“Fun way to finish the year, have it come down to the last shot,” Mickelson said.

What was supposed to be the highlight of the Tour Championship—the FedEx Cup—turned into an afterthought. Singh effectively wrapped up the $10 million prize two weeks ago in St. Louis, so all he had to do was finish 72 holes at East Lake and sign for the correct score to win the FedEx Cup.

“I made one birdie and one bogey. It was easy not to make a mistake,” he said.

Singh closed with a 70 and tied for 22nd in the 30-man field, but none of that mattered. He won the first two playoff events to take the drama out of the FedEx Cup for the second straight year.

Villegas missed the cut at The Barclays in the first round of the playoffs, which ultimately was the difference. He wound up 551 points behind in the standings, but that was only bookkeeping.

While the FedEx Cup suffered another dull finish, the Tour Championship was anything but that. Over the back nine, it turned out to be one of the best regular PGA Tour events of the year.

Mickelson, Garcia, Kim and Villegas—four of the hottest commodities on a tour without Woods—had at least a share of the lead along the back nine at East Lake. They were in the final two groups. At least one player made birdie or bogey on every hole except the 18th, which yielded only one birdie in the final round.

Villegas might have been the one player no one expected to be there.

He started the final round five shots out of the lead, and despite a pair of birdies, gave it all back and more with a tee shot into the water on the par-3 sixth, and a bogey on the next hole. That’s when he got his first pep talk from caddie Gary Matthews.

“My caddie looked at me straight in the eyes and he goes, ‘You ain’t going to give up on me. We can still do it.’ He was probably the only one believing that at that point,” Villegas said.

The Colombian fired off three straight birdies as the leaders showed signs of a struggle, and the game was on.

Garcia, also a playoff loser to Singh in The Barclays, failed to birdied the par-5 ninth from a greenside bunker, and didn’t make his first birdie until the 12th hole. Mickelson was reminded how much his putter has held him back, missing several chances inside 12 feet.

Kim was the most steady of the bunch, but after taking the outright lead with a 20-foot birdie on the 11th hole, the 23-year-old did not make another birdie the rest of the round.

Garcia steadied himself and was ahead by one shot until Villegas stood over his approach from the first cut of rough on the 17th hole, where the plan all week was to aim for the middle of the green. His caddie told him to take his chances with a 30-foot putt.

“Sometimes I’m a little stubborn,” Villegas said. “I wasn’t sure if it was going to jump a little bit or not, but when my caddie looked at me, he goes, ‘Trust it. It’s not going to jump.’ I changed my target, looked straight at the pin, and went at it.”

What a payoff it turned out to be.