TOUR NEWS:NEW WORLD number two Sergio Garcia has set his sights on winning a major after moving up to a career high in the world rankings with a thrilling victory in the HSBC Champions in China.
The Spaniard edged out Ryder Cup team-mate Oliver Wilson at the second play-off hole on the fifth day of the rain-affected €4 million event in Shanghai to leapfrog three-time major winner Phil Mickelson and cap an amazing year for the 28-year-old.
Garcia won May's Players' Championship - the so-called fifth major - after a play-off, while he also lost twice in sudden death in the US Tour FedEx Cup series at the Barclays and The Tour Championship.
And after claiming a seventh top-five finish in eight events since finishing runner-up to Pádraig Harrington at August's US PGA Championship, Garcia is determined to finally win one of the games' four biggest prizes next year.
"Right after winning the Players' Championship I thought that I could get to number three, I felt number two was still difficult, but it is awesome. I have never achieved it before; it is something extra for the year. I am now looking forward to working hard and getting better," he said after claiming his 19th professional victory.
"The next goal is trying to win a major, I have been trying for a while, but winning a major is the next goal."
But while winning a major is a realistic goal for the first winner on the European Tour's new money-spinning Race to Dubai, overtaking runaway world number one Tiger Woods remains a distant possibility, even though the American is sidelined following knee surgery.
"It depends how much Tiger takes off when he comes back and if I keep playing well. It is possible, because he has been injured, but we know as soon as he comes back he is going to be playing hard and be quite tough.
"But I have never been this close to number one, so it's just exciting to be there," added Garcia.
"If I play the way I'm playing I probably can overtake him, but Tiger is the kind of player you don't see very often in history, there are very few like him, if there has ever been one like him."
On the fifth day of the disrupted championship, Garcia holed from four feet on the final green to cap a final round four-under-par 68 to join overnight leader Wilson at the top of the leaderboard after the Englishman shot a 70.
The duo both had chances at the first extra hole, before Wilson could only manage a par on the return trip down the 18th.
That allowed Garcia to hole from the fringes of the green to seal the thrilling win - his second in three weeks after claiming victory at the Castello Masters on his home course at the end of October.
While Garcia heads back to Spain with happy memories of his experience at Sheshan International Golf Club, Wilson is left still chasing a maiden career title after suffering a fourth career play-off defeat, which earned him an eighth runner-up finish - five of which have come this year.
"It's getting to a stage where second is not good enough anymore. There was a time I was pleased to be finishing there, and it's gone, and it's about time I took my chances," said the 28-year-old Ryder Cup rookie.
"It's going to happen, but I'm making it hard on myself. It will be worth it when I finally get one. It's not going to be easy, it's not going to be given to me."
Wilson will have to be content with elevation to 42nd in the world, which will secure him a place at April's US Masters at Augusta - a place he will look to cement in Singapore and Hong Kong over the next two weeks.
Meanwhile, Ian Woosnam has set his sights on winning a senior major after becoming the first former European Tour Order of Merit winner to be crowned the Senior Tour number one.
Having battled the energy-sapping ME virus to return to competitive golf in style this year, the 50-year-old Welshman said: "This ranks alongside the rest of my achievements in my career.
"Once I got the first win I felt more confident and after that I just felt I could win every tournament. I would still say I'm nowhere near 100 per cent , I'm probably around 75 per cent. I still don't feel well in the mornings and I get really tired, but I feel comfortable on the Senior Tour and what I want to do now is win a major.
"It would be great to win the Senior Open Championship next year."
RANKINGS
World rankings
( US unless stated, last week's positions in brackets):
1. (1) Tiger Woods 14.10 ave pts
2. (3) Sergio Garcia (Spain) 8.68
3. (2) Phil Mickelson 8.15
4. (4) Vijay Singh (Fiji) 7.54
5. (5) Pádraig Harrington (Ireland) 7.27
6. (6) Robert Karlsson (Sweden) 5.32
7. (7) Camilo Villegas (Colombia) 5.29
8. (9) Lee Westwood (Britain) 4.91
9. (8) Anthony Kim 4.90
10. (12) Henrik Stenson (Sweden) 4.88
11. (10) Ernie Els (S Africa) 4.86
12. (11) Jim Furyk 4.86
13. (13) Steve Stricker 4.54
14. (14) Stewart Cink 4.40
15. (18) Geoff Ogilvy (Australia) 4.36
16. (15) KJ Choi (South Korea) 4.34
17. (16) Adam Scott (Australia) 4.33
18. (17) Justin Rose (Britain) 4.10
19. (19) Kenny Perry 3.96
20. (20) Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) 3.75
European Tour Race to Dubai
1. Sergio Garcia (Spain) €650,383
2. Oliver Wilson (Britain) €433,602
3. Peter Hanson (Sweden) €219,708
3. Geoff Ogilvy (Australia) €219,708
5. Henrik Stenson (Sweden) €166,245
6. Adam Scott (Australia) €126,830
6. Charl Schwartzel (S Africa) €126,830
8. Alvaro Quiros (Spain) €78,225
9. Paul Casey (Britain) €67,428
9. Peter Lawrie (Ireland) €67,428
9. Pádraig Harrington (Ireland) €67,428
12. Ian Poulter (Britain) €58,712
12. Robert Karlsson (Sweden) €58,712
14. Graeme McDowell (Ireland) €51,786
14. Damien McGrane (Ireland) €51,786
14. Louis Oosthuizen (S Africa) €51,786
17. Martin Kaymer (Germany) €44,956
17. Andrew McLardy (S Africa) €44,956
17. Richard Sterne (S Africa) €44,956
20. Mikael Lundberg (Sweden) €40,176
20. Liang Wen-chong (China) €40,176
20. David Dixon (Britain) €40,176
US PGA Tour
( US unless stated):
1. Vijay Singh (Fiji) $6,601,094
2. Tiger Woods $5,775,000
3. Phil Mickelson $5,188,875
4. Sergio Garcia (Spain) $4,858,224
5. Kenny Perry $4,663,794
6. Anthony Kim $4,656,265
7. Camilo Villegas (Colombia) $4,422,641
8. Pádraig Harrington (Ireland) $4,313,551
9. Stewart Cink $3,979,301
10. Justin Leonard $3,943,542
11. Robert Allenby (Australia) $3,606,700
12. Jim Furyk $3,455,714
13. Ryuji Imada (Japan) $3,029,363
14. Mike Weir (Canada) $3,020,135
15. Geoff Ogilvy (Australia) $2,880,099
16. KJ Choi (South Korea) $2,683,442
17. Ben Curtis $2,615,798
18. Kevin Sutherland $2,581,311
19. Trevor Immelman (S Africa) $2,566,199
20. Ernie Els (S Africa) $2,537,290
