It was a major win on Sunday for Sergio Garcia, even if it wasn't quite a major championship. Garcia held his nerve down the stretch at The Players Championship, even sinking a must-make par putt on the 72nd hole, then defeated Paul Goydos in a playoff when Goydos' shot on the first extra hole found water.

It's the biggest win to date for Garcia - a victory that many, including Garcia himself, see as a long overdue. Garcia burst onto the international golf scene at age 19. Greatness seemed a sure thing. And while he's posted victories on the PGA Tour - The Players Championship is win No. 7 - and has contended in majors (including losing a playoff at last year's British Open), Garcia hasn't reached the heights everyone expected him to reach.

But perhaps this huge win can be the propellant Garcia needs? Keep in mind, although it seems like he's been around forever, he's only 28 years old. And he's now working with Stan Utley on his short game, and Utley is the guru du jour among golf instructors. Garcia struggled with putting at times during The Players Championship, but he also sank some very important putts, especially on Sunday.

Garcia has always had the game, tee-to-green, to be a big winner. His fortunes have always turned on his putting. Maybe those fortunes just took a turn for the better.

See also:

• Off the wire: Garcia wins Players Championship in playoff

A couple weeks ago, following her win in the Stanford International Pro-Am, we noted Annika Sorenstam still had a long way to go to catch Lorena Ochoa. Sorenstam and Ochoa had played in the same tournament four times in 2008, and Ochoa had won all four of those events, finishing a combined 45 strokes ahead of Sorenstam.

Well, Sorenstam has taken a big step toward rectifying that disparity. She dominated the LPGA Michelob Ultra Open, winning by seven shots on Sunday and beating Ochoa by 12. As noted, it's the first time this year Sorenstam has beaten Ochoa.

Sorenstam and Ochoa have now combined to win eight of the 11 LPGA tournaments played thus far, and Annika certainly looks like she's back in the mix, coming on strong against Ochoa.

She's also back in the mix in the chase to Kathy Whitworth's LPGA career victories record. After tailing off in 2006, and going winless in 2007, Sorenstam's chances of breaking Whitworth's mark of 88 career wins appeared dim. Now, well, they're at least a bit brighter again.

Annika's win at the Michelob Ultra Open was career win No. 72, 16 behind Whitworth.

See also:

• LPGA career wins list

Tommy Armour is best-known as a great golfer, and for the golf clubs that still carry his name. But he was also one of the most sought-after instructors of his time. So when the Silver Scot talked, golfers listened. And they should still listen to what he had to say about a proper setup: "Before they ever begin swinging, I can improve nine out of every ten typical amateur golfers."

The setup is the most important - but overlooked - full-swing fundamental, according to current instructor Michael Lamanna. Lamanna explains what Armour was talking about, and why the setup - alignment, foot position, ball position, balance, posture, arm and hand position - is so important to a golfer's success. Find out what makes for a proper golf setup.

See also:

• Video: Correct golf posture
• Video: Ball position at setup

During the LPGA Michelob Ultra Open broadcast, Judy Rankin reminded viewers that Suzann Pettersen sometimes putted with her eyes closed last season (Pettersen is apparently no longer using this trick). And Andy North jumped in to say that during one of his PGA Tour seasons, he spent several weeks putting with his left eye closed. "It took the hole out of view and forced me to focus only on the ball," North said.

We talked about Pettersen's eyes-closed trick last year when it was first revealed that she was doing it. Check out the article, "Why pro golfers sometimes putt without looking at the ball."

See also these drills and quick tips:

• Close your eyes for this putting drill
• Another eyes-closed putting routine
• A full-swing "eyes closed" practice techique

It's a debate that reignites every year at this point: Is The Players Championship a major? Should it be? Does it deserve to be called a major? Some Tour players say no way; others say they already think of it as one of golf's majors.

What do you think? Vote in the poll to the right.

And check out our examination of both sides of the issue, the pros and cons, in our issue paper, "Does The Players Championship deserve to be a major?"

• More on The Players Championship

Ready to kick back and enjoy the show from TPC Sawgrass? Here are the broadcast times for The Players Championship on television, on satellite radio, and on Live@ (pgatour.com). All times listed are Eastern.

TV Times
Thursday: 1-7 p.m., Golf Channel
Friday: 1-7 p.m., Golf Channel
Saturday: 2-7 p.m., NBC
Sunday: 2-7 p.m., NBC

XM Radio Times
Thursday-Saturday: 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Sunday: Noon-midnight

Live@17 Times
Thursday-Friday: 9 a.m.-7:30 p.m.
Saturday-Sunday: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

I mentioned in a previous post that Jack Nicklaus won the very first Players Championship played. In fact, he won three of the first five, and that's the record for most wins in this tournament (3).

Who are the other winners? And what other tournament records are there to pass along? Browse through both the list of winners and the list of tournament records:

• Players Championship winners
• Players Championship records

Some people call it "the fifth major," but even those who don't acknowledge that it is the next-most-important tournament after the majors. It's The Players Championship, the only one of those five most important tournaments that is run by the PGA Tour.

Jack Nicklaus was the first champion in this event, Phil Mickelson was last year's champion. And Tiger Woods isn't playing following his knee surgery.

Take a look at our Players Championship tournament profile for all the past champions and more tourney tidbits.

Ignacio Garrido lost a playoff to Peter Lawrie on Sunday at the European Tour's Spanish Open. Which is a shame, because had Garrido won, the Garridos would have become the first father-son tandem ever on the European Tour to win the same tournament.

Antonio Garrido won the Spanish Open in 1972, when it was the first official event in the tour's history. The Garridos were already one of three father-son combinations to win on the European Tour, however, and there are seven father-son tandems credited with PGA Tour wins.

Check out the lists:

• Father-Son winners on the PGA Tour and European Tour

In 2003, Michelle Wie, then in junior high, made it through qualifying to earn a spot in the U.S. Women's Open. The following year the USGA gave her a special exemption into the field. In 2004, 2005 and 2006, she finished close enough to the top to automatically qualifying for the following year's Open.

But not in 2007. Last year, in the midst of a disastrous season, Wie withdrew from the U.S. Women's Open. And so in 2008, with the USGA not offering another exemption, the only way for Wie to get into the Open is to go back to qualifying.

And that's what she's doing. Wie is among the more than 1,200 entrants for U.S. Women's Open qualifying, the USGA announced. Wie is exempt from local qualifying, and so will only have to play the sectional stage. She'll take her shot in the sectional qualifier on June 9 at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md.

Also according to the USGA, the youngest golfer to enter qualifying is 11-year-old Samantha Wagner of Easton, Pa.; and the oldest is 62-year-old Barbara Israel of New York, N.Y.

More from the USGA

See also:

• Michelle Wie pictures
• U.S. Women's Open