Too far behind to do anything about the FedEx Cup, Camilo Villegas put together a stirring rally yesterday that was good enough to win the Tour Championship in a playoff over Sergio Garcia for his second victory in a row.

Villegas overcame a five-shot deficit by making six birdies over his final 11 holes for a 4-under 66, then beat Garcia with a par on the 233-yard 18th hole used in the playoff. Villegas, 26, of Colombia, who had gone 85 starts on the PGA Tour without winning, picked up his second in a row with a finish that brought the gallery to life on a sunny afternoon at East Lake in Atlanta.

"Winning is awesome," Villegas said.

He birdied the 17th hole from 12 feet to catch Garcia, then twice hit beautiful lag putts from outside 45 feet, once in regulation to finish at 7-under 273, then in the playoff to cap off his tour season in style.

"Probably the shot of the tournament there [on 17]," he said.

Villegas, who should move to No. 6 in the world ranking today, earned $1.26 million for winning the Tour Championship.

Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson each shot 69, and each had a chance to join the playoff. Kim, playing in the second-to-last group with Villegas, missed from 30 feet. Mickelson's 20-foot birdie putt stayed above the hole.

The consolation prize for Garcia might be the Vardon Trophy for lowest adjusted scoring average. Garcia came into the Tour Championship trailing Mickelson by one-hundredth of a point, and wound up at 69.40. Mickelson finished at 69.42.

What was supposed to be the highlight of the Tour Championship -- the FedEx Cup -- turned into an afterthought. Vijay Singh effectively wrapped up the $10 million prize two weeks ago in St. Louis, so all he had to do was finish 72 holes at East Lake and sign for the correct score to win the FedEx Cup. He closed with a 70 and tied for 22nd in the 30-man field.

• SAS Championship: Argentina's Eduardo Romero won in Cary, N.C., for his third Champions Tour victory in five starts, closing with a 6-under 66 for a three-stroke victory over Tom Kite (69).

• British Masters: Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano won in Sutton Coldfield, England, beating defending champion Lee Westwood with a par on the third playoff hole of a playoff. Castano closed with a 5-under 67 to match Westwood (70) at 12-under 276.

• Navistar LPGA Classic: Lorena Ochoa won in Prattville, Ala., for her seventh victory of the year and first since May, beating Candie Kung with a 2-foot par putt on the second hole of a playoff. Recharged after a month away from the tour, Ochoa closed with a 2-under 70 to match Kung (67) and Cristie Kerr (66) at 15 under.