Villegas wins title in playoff

Too far behind to do anything about the FedEx Cup, Camilo Villegas put together a stirring rally Sunday that was good enough to win the Tour Championship at Atlanta in a playoff over Sergio Garcia for his second consecutive victory.

Villegas overcame a five-shot deficit by making six birdies over his last 11 holes for a four-under-par 66, then beat Garcia with a par on the 233-yard 18th hole used in the playoff.

The 26-year-old Colombian, who had gone 85 starts on the PGA Tour without winning, picked up his second in a row with a finish that brought the gallery to life on a sunny afternoon at East Lake.

He birdied the 17th hole from 12 feet to catch Garcia, then twice hit beautiful lag putts from outside 45 feet, once in regulation to finish at seven-under 273, then in the playoff to cap off his tour season in style.

Villegas, who should move to No. 6 in the world ranking today, earned $1.26 million for winning the Tour Championship.

“I cannot emphasize how hard I’ve worked,” he said.

What was supposed to be the highlight of the Tour Championship -- the FedEx Cup -- turned into an afterthought. Vijay Singh effectively wrapped up the $10-million prize two weeks ago in St. Louis, so all he had to do was finish 72 holes at East Lake and sign for the correct score to win the FedEx Cup. He finished 22nd.

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Lorena Ochoa won the Navistar LPGA Classic at Prattville, Ala., for her seventh victory of the year and first since May, beating Candie Kung with a par on the second hole of a playoff.

Recharged after a month away from the tour, the top-ranked Mexican star closed with a two-under 70 to match Kung (67) and Cristie Kerr (66) at 15-under 273. Kerr was eliminated with a bogey on the first extra hole.

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Argentina’s Eduardo Romero won the SAS Championship at Cary, N.C., for his third Champions Tour victory in five starts, closing with a six-under 66 for a three-stroke victory over Tom Kite.

He had a 15-under 201 total on the Prestonwood Country Club course and earned $315,000 to jump from eighth to third on the money list with $1,501,799.