Playoff pays off for Garcia

Sergio Garcia won a three-man playoff for the second time in five weeks, holing a 7-foot birdie putt to beat Rory Sabbatini on the third extra hole yesterday in the Buick Classic at Harrison, N.Y.

Padraig Harrington was eliminated on the second extra hole in the seventh playoff in the last 12 years on the Westchester Country Club course.

Garcia, who beat Dudley Hart and Robert Damron last month on the first playoff hole at the Byron Nelson Championship, earned $945,000 for his fifth PGA Tour victory and second on the hilly, tree-lined course.

The 24-year-old Spanish star set up his winning putt on the par-5 18th hole with a 90-yard wedge shot, after Sabbatini left his 70-yard third shot 21 feet short of the hole. Sabbatini's putt finished 3 feet from the hole, setting the stage for Garcia in the final event before the US Open at Shinnecock Hills.

All three players birdied the 18th in regulation to finish at 12-under 272, and top a field that featured 25 of the top 30 players on the money list. Garcia was the first to reach 12 under, finishing off his second straight 4-under 67 with a 4 1/2-foot birdie putt.

Harrington, playing directly behind Garcia in the second-to-last group, holed a 16-foot birdie chip from the right fringe for his fourth 68. Sabbatini followed with a 7-foot putt for a 70.

Curtis Cup -- Michelle Wie helped the United States win its fourth straight Cup with a 10-8 victory over Britain-Ireland at Formby, England. The Americans have won the biennial amateur competition 24 of the 33 times it has been played.

The 14-year-old Wie beat Nicola Timmins, 6 and 5, to give the US a 7-6 lead. Wie, the youngest player in Curtis Cup history, is part of a team that doesn't have a player over 22.

"I played lights out," Wie said. "I hit the fairways, didn't miss the greens much. I played really well."

Paula Creamer then won her match, but teammate Jane Park lost hers. Elizabeth Janangelo of West Hartford beat Shelley McKevitt, 1 up, to give the US an insurmountable 9-7 lead.

Champions -- Norwood native Allen Doyle won the Bayer Advantage Celebrity Pro-Am after rain canceled the final round of the event in Parkville, Mo.Doyle finished at 13-under 131 for his first tour victory of the season and first since winning the Fleet Boston Classic in August. Jerry Pate, who matched the course record with a 7-under 65 Saturday, was second at 12 under.

European -- Miles Tunnicliff shot a 4-under 68 and finished 13 under to win the Scottish PGA's Diageo Championship at Gleneagles by five strokes.