Reuters
Sunday, February 11

SYDNEY -- Australian teenager Aaron Baddeley won the Greg Norman International golf tournament on Sunday after beating Sergio Garcia in a playoff. Baddeley won the first extra hole after the two players finished at 21-under 271 following final rounds of 68.

	Consistency paid off for Aaron Baddeley, who shot rounds of 67-68-68-68 to win the title.

Ian Poulter was third at 272, with tournament host Greg Norman fourth a further shot behind after they also closed with 68s.

"That was nerve-wracking stuff down the stretch," Baddeley said. "I was just trying to stay calm and I did that pretty well."

Baddeley sealed victory when he holed a 20-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole after Garcia missed his attempt from 35 feet.

Garcia, who incurred a two-shot penalty during Saturday's third round to lose the outright lead, also missed a birdie putt from 10 feet on the final hole to allow the 19-year-old Baddeley to force the playoff.

Baddeley, Garcia and Poulter were locked together at 20-under after Poulter, playing in the second-last group, chipped in for eagle at the par-5 17th.

But Baddeley and Garcia, who started the final day as co-leaders, both made birdie at 17 to move a shot clear of Poulter. Both then parred the par-3 18th to go into the playoff before Baddeley secured victory on the same hole.

"Somebody did not want me to win this week," said Garcia, still fuming over his two-shot penalty from the previous day.

Garcia was penalized after completing his third round for taking a free drop on the first hole on the advice of tournament host Norman.

"You never know what would have happened today, but it is always different to be on the first tee on a Sunday leading by two instead of tied for the lead," he said.

Baddeley's win guarantees him a two-year exemption on the European Tour, but the confident young Australian said he wanted to play in the United States.

"It's great to have a back-up if things don't go well for me in America," said Baddeley, who turned professional only in November. "But my goal (this year) is to get a U.S. tour card and hopefully win a U.S. tour event."

Baddeley's cocky approach has not endeared him to everyone in the game, and just a week ago Tiger Woods' coach Butch Harmon said Baddeley was "full of himself."

Asked whether he had answered Harmon's criticism by winning, a grinning Baddeley simply replied: "Yep."

Garcia, 21, had taken the lead from Baddeley with a birdie at the par-5 14th but failed to shake off his younger rival who stormed on to the world golf stage when he beat the likes of Norman, Nick Faldo and Colin Montgomerie to win the 1999 Australian Open as a 17-year-old amateur.

Baddeley, who successfully defended his Australian Open last year as a professional, drew level with a long birdie putt at 16, then picked up another shot on the 17th to go to the last all square after Garcia missed an eagle putt on the penultimate hole.

Poulter, 25, joined Garcia and Baddeley at the top of the leaderboard after making birdies at 10, 12 and 14, only to drop behind again with a bogey at the 16th.

He stormed back into contention when he holed his bunker shot for eagle at the 494-yard, par-5 17th but missed a birdie putt at the last that would have got him into the playoff.

Norman's hopes of winning his signature event for the second time in three years faded when he made three bogeys between the fifth and 12th holes. Although he birdied four of the last six holes he came up two short.