Garcia leaps leaderboard Sunday to win Booz Allen June 12, 2005 GolfWeb Wire Services E-Mail To A Friend! BETHESDA, Md. -- Sergio Garcia emerged from a pack of contenders to master Congressional's Blue Course as few others have, closing with a 6-under 65 on Sunday for a two-stroke victory in the Booz Allen Classic. Advertisement Garcia looked in major form in the final tournament before the U.S. Open when he took a big lead with a front-nine 30 and then held steady through a few precarious holes down the stretch. He finished with a 14-under 270 total. Davis Love III (66), Ben Crane (67) and 2004 winner Adam Scott (68) tied for second. Garcia's 270 total tied the course record at Congressional, 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 Classic, then known as the Kemper Open, was played on the Blue Course in a different configuration in 1981. 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 7-under 277. Garcia's sixth career TOUR victory comes on the heels of last month's Wachovia Championship, when the 25-year-old Spanish star lost to Vijay Singh in a three-way playoff. Garcia, who also won the Buick Classic last year the week before the U.S. Open, said the "Wachovia ghost" was flying through his head when he missed the green with his tee shot at the par-3 18th hole to finish with a bogey, but his lead was safe because Scott -- the only player left with a realistic chance to overtake him -- put a bad-hop approach in the water at No. 17. Scott's shot bounced at the edge of the green and in a bunker before dropping in the water, forcing him to settle for bogey. Garcia breezed through the first 10 holes. He one-putted eight consecutive greens, including an 18-footer for eagle at the par-5 sixth hole and a 10-foot putt for birdie at No. 10, the hardest hole on the course. He was in the sand at No. 13 but saved par with another 10-footer. He bogeyed No. 15 after his approach landed in the rough, but he regained the stroke with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 16th green. The day began with 16 players within two shots of the lead, including some of the top names on TOUR. Phil Mickelson's 2-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) put together four straight birdies to get to 13 under before bogeys at Nos. 11, 12 and 13 knocked him out of contention. As for Kite, his bid to surpass Sam Snead as the oldest winner in TOUR history had a promising start with a birdie at the first hole. But then, a bogey on the second and a three-putt from 25 feet at the third proved to be crucial on a day when a bad hole could cost a half-dozen or so spots on the leaderboard. Divots: Singh (71) tied for 29th at 5-under 279, which will drop him to No. 2 on theOfficial World Golf Ranking behind Tiger Woods. It will be the sixth time Singh and Woods have swapped turns at the top this year. ... Sabbatini shot a 70, ending his tournament- record streak at 11 consecutive rounds in the 60s. ... After putting his drive into the left rough on the first tee, Ryuji Imada holed his next shot from 100 yards for an eagle to move within two shots of the lead. However, he bogeyed the next hole.