Garcia’s 65 Wins Booz Allen

Sergio Garcia felt haunted by what he called the Wachovia ghost when he missed the green on the par-three final hole at the Booz Allen Classic in Bethesda, Md.

“I could see the guy just flying around, saying ‘Oooh-oooh, what’s going on?’ ” Garcia said.

Garcia blew a six-stroke lead to lose the Wachovia Championship last month, but the spirits were kinder to him Sunday in the Booz Allen.

He won the sixth PGA Tour title of his career, his finishing bogey holding up after closest rival Adam Scott’s hard-luck shot hit the water at No. 17.

“I guess it turned out right this time,” Garcia said with a big sigh. “It’s not the way I like to finish, but a win is a win.”

The 25-year-old Spaniard shot a six-under 65 to finish with a 14-under 270 total, two strokes ahead of Davis Love III (66), Ben Crane (67) and 2004 winner Scott (68). Garcia led by as many as four strokes after a front-nine 30, emerging from a pack of contenders in the final tournament before the U.S. Open.

Garcia’s 270 total tied the course record at Congressional Country Club, which wasn’t its usual fearsome self in its first PGA Tour event in eight years. Craig Stadler shot a 10-under 270 when the Booz Allen, then known as the Kemper Open, was played on the Blue Course in a different configuration in 1981.

Garcia does well on classic courses, having also won at Westchester twice and Colonial once. Also, half of his PGA Tour victories have come the week before the U.S. Open.

“I guess they should move the U.S. Open one week earlier,” he said. “It is the tougher courses I feel good playing.”

The momentum may or may not count for much. No player has ever won the U.S. Open after winning the week before.

Third-round leader Tom Kite, attempting to become the oldest winner in PGA Tour history at age 55, struggled with his putter and finished with a 74 to tie for 13th at seven-under 277. Kite badly pushed a three-foot par putt short at the second and three-putted from 25 feet at the third.

“I was very tentative out there today,” Kite said, “and you don’t win golf tournaments being tentative.”

The day began with 16 players within two shots of the lead, including some of the top names in golf. Some made runs, and others faltered.

Phil Mickelson’s two-foot putt for par lipped out at the first hole on his way to a 74. Steve Elkington (73) was 12 under for the tournament before a bogey at No. 9 and a double bogey at No. 10 after his approach landed in the water.

Ernie Els (72) sprayed his tee shots all over the course, but he kept recovering and eventually put together four birdies in a row to get to 13 under before three bogeys in a row knocked him out of contention.

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Former Florida player Chris Couch won his second Nationwide Tour title of the year to move within a victory of a promotion to PGA Tour, shooting a four-under 67 for a four-stroke victory in the LaSalle Bank Open in Glenview, Ill.

Couch, also the Rheem Classic winner on May 15, earned $135,000 to jump from fifth to first on the money list with $275,995. The only player in the field with four rounds in the 60s, he finished at 15-under 269 on the Glen Club course.

Kevin Durkin (67), Paul Gow (68) and Mario Tiziani (68) tied for second at 11 under.

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Spanish rookie Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano won his first European PGA Tour title, shooting a three-under 67 for a two-stroke victory over England’s Gary Emerson in the KLM Open

Fernandez-Castano had an 11-under 269 total. Emerson finished with a 70.

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Gil Morgan and Dana Quigley, the leaders in the clubhouse when rain suspended play, will have to wait until today to find out whether they’ll meet in a sudden-death playoff for the Champions Tour’s Bayer Advantage Classic title at Overland Park, Kan.

When the storm system that has plagued the tournament all week forced the suspension of play Sunday, three players were still on the course within three strokes of the leaders.