Sergio
Garcia beat his Ryder Cup team-mate Padraig Harrington in a play-off to clinch
the German Masters on Sunday and threaten Colin Montgomerie's reign as European
number one.
The 19-year-old
Spaniard's £200,000 win, his second on the European Tour, takes him to second
behind Montgomerie in the order of merit and within £400,000 of the Scot
in winnings.
He finished
level with Ian Woosnam (69) and Harrington (67) on 11 under par 277 after a final
round 68, to set up the play-off and won with a birdie at the second hole.
The 41-year-old Welshman bogeyed the first play-off hole to ruin his chances of
a first Tour win in two years.
Harrington had a remarkable escape at the same hole, the 18th, after finding water
and then crashing his next shot against a hospitality tent behind the green.
The Irishman chipped in to match Garcia, who had holed from 25 feet. But Harrington
could not repeat his heroics when they played the 18th again and the Spaniard's
18-foot putt for birdie secured the title.
Garcia said: "I knew I had to make those two putts because I didn't know what
Paidraig would do, he's capable of anything. When he chipped in I knew I had to
focus and it helped me because I knew I couldn't afford to miss the putt and it
calmed me.
"The first putt
felt like it was 80 feet but I guess it was about 25 feet and the second was inside
it but an even better one."
Asked if he could still become European number one despite only playing nine tournaments
so far this year, Garcia said: "It will be really difficult and, as I said earlier
in the week, I might even need to win the only two events I have left, big money
ones, the Volvo Masters and the World Championship.
"But
I've taken the first step and I'm that bit closer."
Garcia, Harrington and Woosnam could all have won over 72 holes but for mistakes
on the last hole.
While Woosnam
and Harrington bogeyed it, Garcia's birdie putt from only eight feet brushed the
hole, just as his birdie attempt at the 17th.
Earlier, the third round leader from England, Peter Baker, looked to be in control
as he built on his single-shot lead going into the final round with two early
birdies.
Baker, playing with
Woosnam, his 1993 Ryder Cup partner, also had chance for a first win in six years
but he missed out on the playoff by bogeying the last to finish a stroke off the
play-off trio.
Spain's Jose
Rivero, the second round leader, also had the chance to pull off his first success
since 1992 when he strung together four birdies coming down the home stretch.
But the 44-year-old veteran
then bogeyed the last two holes to lose his victory chance.
His share of fourth place with Baker, though, earned him enough to keep his playing
card for next year. The Spaniard had languished in 132nd place coming into the
event but his high finish took him safely into the top 115 qualifiers for a card
for 2000.
European number
one Montgomerie lost his chance of a sixth win of the year with an indifferent
closing round. The Scot began just two strokes off the lead but his 72, with one
birdie, one bogey and 16 pars, left him four strokes behind the leaders.
His winnings of £25,000 at least kept Garcia at bay at the top of the European
order of merit with three events to go. Montgomerie has finished Europe's number
one for the last six years.
