Sergio García has won his first PGA title since June 2005, beating local favourite Paul Goydos in a play-off after a thrilling fourth-day final round at the Players Championship in Sawgrass (Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida) yesterday.

Starting in third position, García ended provisionally at the top of the leaderboard with a one-below par round of 71 until Goydos birdied the 16th to take a one-shot lead. After parring the 17th, Goydos bogied the final hole to take the match into a sudden-death playoff, that started on the 17th tee.

While García narrowly missed a birdie putt to seal par, the American's title challenge crumpled when he put his approach shot in the water to give the Spaniard his first US title that ends a barren run stretching back 53 tournaments.