Monday, June 25, 2001
Garcia wins again on the PGA
Tour
By JOEL STASHENKO
Associated Press Writer
HARRISON, N.Y. (AP) — Sergio Garcia
won for the second time in five weeks on the PGA Tour, beating
Scott Hoch by three shots Monday in the rain-delayed Buick Classic.
Tiger Woods, never a factor in the final
two rounds, shot an even-par 71 at Westchester Country Club and
finished 12 strokes back, tied for 16th. He said afterward he
was going to put his clubs away for a while and go fishing.
Garcia shot a 4-under 67 Monday for a four-round
total of 16-under 268, tying the tournament record. Hoch had a
1-under 68 and was alone in second at 13-under 271.
J.P. Hayes, Billy Andrade and Stewart Cink
were next, tied at 11-under 273.
Hoch started the day at 10-under, two behind
Garcia, and he briefly caught the 21-year-old Spaniard at 12-under
with birdies on the fourth and fifth holes. But Garcia took the
lead back with a birdie on the 326-yard, par-4 seventh after nearly
driving the green and held it the rest of the way.
Both Hoch and Garcia made birdie on the
10th, another short par-4, and Garcia took a two-shot lead on
the 13th after hitting his second shot within a foot of the cup.
Hoch, meantime, was steadily making pars
at a time he needed birdies. He made eight straight pars on the
back nine — usually putting from 15 feet or more — and
could never put any real pressure on Garcia.
Trying for an eagle or better on the par-5
final hole, Hoch went for the green on his second shot but missed
to the right and made par from the rough. Garcia, meantime, reached
the green in two with an iron and two-putted for a birdie he didn't
need.
This was Hoch's seventh top-10 finish of
the year and it pushed his season earnings past $1.8 million,
a career-best.
Woods, who needed a second-round 66 just
to make the cut after an opening-round 74, started the day eight
shots behind Garcia and immediately bogeyed Nos. 1 and 2 to end
any chance of a comeback.
He had two other bogeys and four birdies
to finish the day where he started, at 4-under.
“You can't play good every week, but
what you can do is try,” Woods said. “I tried on every
shot. It really wasn't there. There's not more I can do about
that. I know my mechanics are a little bit off. ... It puts a
huge strain on you when you have to rely on feel because your
mechanics aren't where they need to be.”
Woods said he would probably play once more
before the British Open, at the Western Open July 5-8. Woods said
he was going to pick up a fishing rod.
“Nothing's the matter, I just don't
want to play,” he said. “I just need a little time off.”
The final round of the Buick Classic was
pushed back to Monday because of rain, which interrupted the first
round and postponed the third.
DIVOTS:
Garcia won $630,000. ... Garcia's 268 total tied the Buick Classic
record set by David Frost in 1992 and tied by Lee Janzen in 1994
and Ernie Els in 1997. ... Vijay Singh played the 505-yard uphill
par-5 ninth in 7-under and the other 68 holes in 3-under. He had
another eagle on the ninth Monday, following eagles in rounds
one and two and a birdie in the third round.
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