Sergio Garcia wins the Players Championship after playoff

Sergio Garcia wins the Players Championship after playoff For the first time in 21 years the winner of the Players Championship had to be decided by playoff, today the battle was between Sergio Garcia and Paul Goydos. Garcia took the Players to the playoffs by making a clutch par putt to force a playoff and hitting the island green 17th on the first extra hole and defeated Goydos for the trophy. Although Sergio Garcia missed the birdie putt, his tap-in for par was good enough to sink Paul Goydos, who bogeyed the hole after his tee shot ended up in water short of the island green. The win of the 2008 Players Championship was first for the Spaniard and his first victory on the PGA Tour in three years (2005 Booz Allen Classic). "It's just a lot of hard work that is starting to pay off. That's the most important thing. And I want to thank Tiger [Woods] for not being here. That always makes things a little bit easier," Sergio Garcia said after pocketing $1.71 million for winning the Players Championship.

And indeed the absence of Tiger Woods at the Players Championship opened opportunity not only for the rest of the golfers, but the bettors, as well. The smallest odds to win the Players Championship 2008 were held by Phil Mickelson at 12/1 at the online sportsbook BodogSports and the winner of the 2008 Players Championship, Sergio Garcia, paid out the lucky punters on 33/1 odds. It was really the last time we will see double digit favorite odds on a major PGA Tour.

Published on 05/11/2008