Garcia Shoots 63 to Win Colonial

Sergio Garcia shot a closing seven-under-par 63 Sunday to win the Colonial at Fort Worth for his first PGA Tour victory after another last-round collapse by Phil Mickelson.

Garcia finished 13 under at 267, two strokes ahead of Brian Gay and defending champion Mickelson, who missed three short putts en route to a 70. Mickelson lost while playing in the final group for third time this year.

The best previous PGA finish for Garcia, 21, was as the runner-up to Tiger Woods at the 1999 PGA Championship. The $720,000 first-place check at Colonial increased Garcia’s season earnings to $1.1 million.

After starting five strokes behind Mickelson, Garcia put himself in position with a six-under 29 on the front nine. He caught Mickelson at 13 under with a 20-foot birdie on the 178-yard 13th hole.

Mickelson, who was two holes behind Garcia, gave up the lead at the 457-yard 14th when his approach went over the green and his three-foot par putt slid over the right edge of the cup for a bogey to go to 12 under.

Wendy Doolan made a six-foot birdie putt on the fifth playoff hole to beat Wendy Ward and win the rain-shortened LPGA Champions Classic at Beavercreek, Ohio.

It was Doolan’s first victory and came in the 129th tournament of her six-year career.

The clutch putt came on the same 18th green where she had made a 10-foot par-saving putt after blasting out of a greenside bunker on the final hole of regulation. Ward later barely missed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th that would have given Ward her third victory. The two finished regulation tied at 12-under 132.

Ward had almost the same putt on the fifth playoff hole. The ball came to rest on the lip.

Doolan then stepped up and--as darkness was falling at the Country Club of the North--made the decisive putt that gave her the first-place check of $112,500.

Ed Dougherty, with only one victory in 94 previous senior tournaments, shot a final-round 66 and won the TD Waterhouse Championship at Kansas City, Mo.

Dougherty’s 22-under-par 194 for 54 holes tied the Senior PGA Tour record set by Ray Floyd at the 1993 Gulfstream Aerospace Invitational.

Dougherty won $225,000, which is $99,000 more than his biggest previous payday.

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