Beckman wins after a playoff

Cameron Beckman tapped in a par putt on the second playoff hole Sunday to complete a big comeback and beat Kevin Sutherland in the Frys.com Open at Scottsdale, Ariz.

Beckman, 176th on the money list and 447th in the world ranking entering the tournament, was four shots behind Sutherland at the turn, then made birdies on five of the next seven holes. Sutherland missed putts of 13 and nine feet that would have won it at the end of regulation and on the first playoff hole, also the 18th.

The second playoff hole was the 464-yard, par-four 17th, and it was a nightmare for Sutherland. His second shot sailed far to the right over a cart path and into the dirt. His third shot went over the green and down a hill.

Beckman, meanwhile, put his second shot 6 1/2 feet from the pin. He just missed the putt, and the tap-in gave him his second PGA Tour victory. His first was the Southern Farm Bureau Classic seven years ago.

It was the second playoff loss for Sutherland this year.

Beckman closed with a seven-under-par 63 to match Sutherland (66) at 18 under.

While many players were scrambling to finish high enough to earn full exempt status for next year, Sutherland had no such pressure. He entered ranked 32nd on the earnings list and already had qualified for next year’s Masters and British Open.

Australian Mathew Goggin closed with a 63 to finish third at 17 under.

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Alfredsson wins

Helen Alfredsson won the Grand China Air for her second LPGA Tour victory of the year, shooting a seven-under 65 for a three-stroke victory over 19-year-old Yani Tseng at West Coast Golf Club in Haikou, China.

The 43-year-old Swede, Europe’s 2007 Solheim Cup captain, finished at 12-under 204 after opening rounds of 70 and 69. She also won the Evian Masters in France.

Tseng, from Taiwan, closed with a 68. Laura Diaz, the first-round leader after a 63, shot a 72 to finish third.

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Cook repeats

John Cook successfully defended his AT&T; Championship title in San Antonio, shooting a six-under 65 for a three-stroke Champions Tour victory over Keith Fergus.

Cook had a 16-under 197 total on the Oak Hills Country Club course and earned $247,500 for his second victory on the 50-and-over tour.

A playoff loser to Bruce Vaughan in the Senior British Open, Cook started the day a stroke behind second-round leader Jeff Sluman. After bogeying No. 1, Cook birdied three of the next four, and took the lead for good with a 25-foot birdie putt on 10.

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Garcia dedicates

Sergio Garcia picked up his first European win in over three years on his home course and dedicated the three-shot victory in the Castello Masters at Spain to the hospitalized Seve Ballesteros.

Garcia closed with a four-under 67 for a 20-under 264 total at Club de Campo del Mediterraneo.

Garcia immediately turned the attention to Ballesteros, hospitalized in Madrid following recent surgery to remove a malignant brain tumor.