Singh wins playoff for Barclays title

Golf Betting Lines

08/24/2008 - Paramus, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vijay Singh birdied the second hole of a thrilling playoff on Sunday to defeat Sergio Garcia and Kevin Sutherland and capture The Barclays, the first FedEx Cup Playoff event.

The trio headed back to the 18th hole and Singh and Garcia hammered their drives down the fairway.

Sutherland missed the short grass in almost the identical spot he missed in regulation. He was able to come up short and left, once again, in almost the exact spot in regulation.

Sutherland pitched to six feet and Garcia and Singh were in similar spots both about 26 feet from the hole. They called officials and ShotLink workers in charge of tracking distances to see who was away and it was Garcia.

The Spaniard drained the birdie putt, eliminating Sutherland from the playoff. All that stood from Garcia's victory was Singh holing his birdie putt. That's exactly what the 45-year-old Singh did and it was back to the par-five 17th at Ridgewood Country Club.

Garcia hit a terrible drive while Singh hit a strong drive down the middle. Garcia's second ran to the other side of the fairway directly behind a tree. Singh played his second onto the green inside 20 feet, a replay of his shot that netted a birdie in regulation.

Garcia was the beneficiary of a strange ruling for "abnormal ground." He got some room from behind the tree, but his pitch came up short of the putting surface.

Garcia needed to hole out from off the green to give himself a realistic chance. It didn't happen and Garcia had to wait and watch Singh two-putt from 18 feet for the win.

Singh did just that and collected his second win this month and 33rd on the PGA Tour.

"It was a tough day, but it was a great playoff, though. I enjoyed that," said Singh, who pocketed $1.26 million for the win. "I believed in myself that I'm the best putter, and I came out here with a different attitude, and I putted great this week."

For Garcia it's another lost opportunity. He had a good chance at his first major a few weeks back at the PGA Championship, but was upstaged by Padraig Harrington.

"Obviously you want to win," said Garcia. "Vijay played a really solid 17th. Unfortunately I turned my driver just a little too much. I didn't think it was that bad."

Singh and Garcia both posted rounds of one-under 70 on Sunday, while Sutherland shot a three-under 68. The trio finished regulation at eight-under 276.

Overnight leader Kevin Streelman only managed a one-over 72 on Sunday and tied for fourth place with Mathew Goggin (67) and Ben Curtis (68) at seven-under 277.

Singh didn't get much going on the front nine Sunday with a bogey at seven and a birdie at eight. He went bogey-birdie again at 12 and 13, but no one got too far ahead.

Garcia reached eight-under par after a tap-in birdie at the par-three 10th. He parred his next five, then found a terrible lie at 16. Garcia bogeyed that hole to fall back to minus-seven, which trailed Sutherland by a stroke.

Sutherland got into the clubhouse at eight-under after four birdies and a bogey. He birdied 13 and 16 to get his piece of the lead, then saved par from the left rough at the last.

Garcia nailed a four-iron through the green at the par-five 17th. He chipped down inside a foot from the stick and tapped in for birdie to match Sutherland at eight-under. Garcia parred the last, then waited to see if Singh would join in the extra session.

Singh earned his spot in the playoff thanks to an awesome fairway-wood shot at 17. The ball rolled to 15 feet and Singh two-putted for a birdie that tied him for the lead.

He had a chance for victory in regulation, but his 16-footer for birdie at the last stayed above ground.

Singh ultimately prevailed in the playoff for his fourth title at this event.

Now he's in control for the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

"The way the system works now, the next guy that wins can just overtake you. It's going to be tough," acknowledged Singh. "But I'm ahead and I've got a head start, so I just have to go out there and play consistent, solid golf and hopefully win at the end."

Martin Laird (67), Justin Leonard (67), Nicholas Thompson (67), Mike Weir (72) and Paul Casey (72) shared seventh place at six-under 278.

Phil Mickelson shot a three-under 68 on Sunday to share 19th at minus-four.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.