Vijay Singh is on a late-season run. (Mike Davis/Flickr)
FINALLY. ON THE FIRST HOLE of a three-way sudden-death playoff at The Barclays, Sergio Garcia holed an improbable birdie putt from long range.
It was the kind of dramatic tournament-clinching putt Garcia has had trouble making in the past. But this one was rolling at just the right speed, and instead of missing left like so many of Sergio’s misses, it dove into the cup.
Wow. Game over, right?
Kevin Sutherland was done after making a mess of the 18th. He picked up his ball mark. All that was needed to make it official was for Vijay Singh to wave his broomstick-length putter and miss his 26-footer.
Surely, Vijay, of all people, wasn’t going to roll in THAT putt. Not on top of Sergio. No way.
Way. Singh nudged his Titleist into the cup.
On the next playoff hole, the par-5 17th, Garcia yanked his tee shot into the tree line. Singh split the fairway. After a rules clinic on burrowing animals and a Garcia birdie chip that narrowly missed, the Fijian calmly two-putted for the winning birdie.
That makes four Barclays titles for Mr. Singh and two wins in the last month. Veej is also your FedEx Cup leader.
Meanwhile, Garcia, the heartbreak kid, is scratching his head again. What does he have to do to win?
−The Armchair Golfer
I like Vijay, but I hate the belly putter. It should be banned, and his recent wins deserve asterisks.
That long-putter genie has been out of the bottle for 20 or so years. You’re too late, Phil.
The rules clinic was bizarre and a real break for Sergio. If he had won, there would have been much more said about it. Vijay was in dismay over it all I think.
I’m really getting into the playoffs this year. I don’t know if it’s because it’s up for grabs sans Tiger or if the changes in the points system have really made it that much more interesting. Either way I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
I can’t see how he got that ruling. From what I could see, and they showed the ball quite clearly, his ball was not affected. He dug around, well away from where he would take a stance, and found some evidence of perhaps a small burrowing animal. I looked up the rule and I do not think he was entitled a drop. Any opinions on the ruling?
Claptrapper and Greg: That did strike me as a weird ruling, too. I kept thinking it wouldn’t matter since Singh was on the green in two, but there would have been more discussion, for sure, if Garcia had won. OK, I haven’t looked it up, but my understanding of the burrowing animal rule is that it has to directly affect your swing, lie, or stance. It didn’t look to me like it did, but I’m watching on TV. You would hope Slugger White had a good handle on it. Still …
Bloggerbeck: I’m more interested in the playoffs, too, and in golf in general with Tiger’s absence. It makes you wonder who will win out there. Previously, there was zero suspense, except in the majors.