Loren Roberts atoned for his worst swing of the day with one of his best, then beat Steve Pate on the first sudden-death playoff hole today to win the Byron Nelson Classic.

Roberts missed the fairway and the green on the playoff hole, but hit out of the left bunker on the 18th to within 2 feet. Pate was in the right bunker, came up 12 feet from the hole and missed the putt.

Roberts won $540,000 for his first victory in two years. Pate was the runner-up for the second time this year -- the other was when David Duval shot a 59 in the Bob Hope Classic.

Sergio Garcia, the 19-year-old Spanish sensation, made his first professional start in America a memorable one. He birdied the 18th for a 69 that left him tied for third at 269 along with U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen, Brian Watts and Chris DiMarco.

Tiger Woods finished at 271, having played the final three rounds at even-par after opening with a 61. Roberts had a 68 and Pate a 66.

Roberts and Pate broke by one stroke the 72-hole tournament record last set by Woods in 1997. But after a week of birdies, Roberts wound up winning for the sixth time on the PGA Tour with his decisive par on the 18th -- the hole used for the playoff.

The playoff was made possible by one swing from Roberts -- his approach into No. 14 that bounded off the side of the hill and into the water. He wound up with a double bogey, which ended a streak of 32 holes at no worse than par on the TPC Four Seasons at Las Colinas.

Pate made a 15-foot par putt on the hole to take the lead for the first time all day, but it didn't last long. Roberts recovered from his misery quickly by hitting it into 3 feet for birdie on the next hole, and they traded pars the rest of the way in.

"I was just happy to hang in there," Roberts said.

Garcia earned $144,000. He needs only $30,470 to earn special temporary membership on the PGA Tour, which would give him as many sponsor exemptions as he wants. Garcia's next appearance in America will be in the Memorial Tournament.

"I shot a 69 and I didn't play very well, so I guess that's a good score," Garcia said. "Overall, I had a pretty good week. Texans treated me well."

In return, Garcia gave them a treat by living up to a saying in Spain -- "Suerte o muerte."

Literally, that means "luck or death." The loose translation is to go for broke, which is the very essence of Garcia - aggressive, fearless, immune to intimidation. That much was clear when the yellow and purple shaft of his driver emerged from his bag on the first tee.

Garcia didn't hit the green, but he chipped in for birdie from 20 feet and then played a brilliant bump from off the green to save par on second hole.

Still, he couldn't mount a charge, and his chances disappeared when his drive flared out to the right and out of bounds on No. 6 for double bogey.

That didn't make it any less exciting. Garcia hit a shot that would have made Seve Ballesteros proud -- from the left rough, over a tree and to within 10 feet on the 18th. He ran up the side of the hill to see the results, pumping his arms to the delight of a massive gallery, then sank the birdie putt to tie for third.

Woods, who fell out of contention Saturday afternoon with a quadruple-bogey 7 on the 17th hole, wore a game face that suggested eight strokes was not too much to make up.

He hit his drive on the 385-yard first hole to the back fringe and two-putted for birdie, then got another birdie on No. 2. But Woods had three bogeys and a double and wound up ....

"On a day when you need to make a big move, you can't do that," Woods said. "I never really could get it going."

Roberts and Pate made it especially difficult.

Roberts had a two-stroke lead to start the final round, and no one else was closer than four strokes. Pate birdied the first hole, Roberts hit it stiff for birdie on the par-3 second, and it became a two-man race the rest of the way.

DIVOTS: Jerry Higginbotham, Mark O'Meara's caddie for five years until he was fired after the Masters, made such a good impression with Sergio Garcia this week that he'll carry his bag the rest of the year -- even in Europe. "Everything works out for a reason," Higginbotham said. "And this could work out really good." ... Corey Pavin (16 birdies). .... The 7 that Tiger Woods took on the par-3 17th in the third round was his first quadruple bogey since the 10th hole at Royal Troon in the 1997 British Open. ... Woods hit four balls in the water this week. ... Lee Janzen missed a 6-foot par putt on the 18th, which cost him $60,000.