Enquirer staff and wire reports

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. - The first European hoisted in the air was Bernhard Langer, the captain of the winning Ryder Cup team. Then it was time to lift the star - Sergio Garcia.

How appropriate. Final result: Europe 18 1/2, United States 9 1/2.

The flamboyant Spaniard took care of the lone omission on his Ryder Cup resume, winning a crucial singles match against Phil Mickelson Sunday that ended any hopes of an American comeback.

With fist-pumping emotion that stirred his own team and rattled the Americans, Garcia completed a remarkable weekend at Oakland Hills by standing front and center - four wins and a draw - in Europe's most dominating victory.

"Anyone who can get 4 1/2 points is bloody good," teammate Colin Montgomerie said. "To be the youngest member of our team and have that effervescent personality that he does, he adds a great deal to our team."

Mickelson was 2 up after Garcia, 24, made a mess of the eighth hole, stirring hopes the Americans could pull off an unprecedented rally.

At the time, the top five U.S. players - a top-loaded order that also included Tiger Woods, Davis Love III, Jim Furyk and Kenny Perry - were winning their matches, threatening to overcome a formidable 11-5 deficit after the first two days.

Oakland Hills was rocking with chants of "USA! USA! USA!"

That's when Garcia took over.

"I was mainly trying to be positive," he said. "I knew if I got something going, I would at least show my partners that I could get back in the game, have a chance to win a point and help out a little bit."

Garcia made his third straight birdie at the 11th, sticking a shot from 130 yards to 2 feet. He was ahead for the first time in the match, and the momentum seemed to be shifting all over the course.

As if inspired by Garcia's performance, the Europeans down the board began to take control of their own matches. The crowd got quieter. The Europeans in the gallery began congregating around the 18th green, sensing their team would soon be celebrating there.

"He's a reliable character," Montgomerie said.

Lee Westwood sank the putt that ensured the Europeans would take the chalice back to their side of the Atlantic. Montgomerie made the putt that gave his team an outright victory. But no one was more valuable than Garcia. He played five times over three days, winning four times and halving the other match. "Sergio! Sergio! Ser-gee-ohhh!" the European supporters chanted.

PGA TOUR: Bart Bryant, 41, won his first PGA Tour event, closing with a 3-under 67 for a three-stroke victory over Patrick Sheehan in San Antonio. Bryant snapped a streak of 187 tour events without a victory.

LPGA TOUR: Hee-Won Han made a 4-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to beat Lorie Kane and win the Safeway Classic in Portland, Ore.

Tennis

CHINA OPEN: Former U.S. Open champion Marat Safin won his first title in two years, beating Mikhail Youzhny 7-6 (4), 7-5 in an all-Russian final in Beijing.

WISMILAK EVENT: U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova won the title in Bali, defeating Marlene Weingartner 6-1, 6-4 to advance to a No. 5 ranking.

Boxing

HOPKINS WINS: A devastating hook to the body for a knockout in the ninth round Saturday night didn't just help establish Bernard Hopkins as one of the all-time middleweight greats. It also raised the question of whether Oscar De La Hoya might want to finally call it quits.

Horse racing

BELMONT PARK: Sightseek, 5, looks ready for another run at the Breeders' Cup Distaff. The mare easily won the $300,000 Ruffian Handicap, rolling to an 11 1/4-length victory and improving to 5-for-5 at Belmont.

Football

COMETS IN PLAYOFFS: The Kings Comets won their regular-season finale, 35-7 against the Louisville Bulls at Princeton High School Vikings Stadium and earned a Mid-Continental Football League playoff berth.

Hydroplane racing

MISS BUD'S FINALE: Dave Villwock drove Miss Budweiser to victory in the Bill Muncey Cup in San Diego, the final appearance by the famous red unlimited hydroplane under the sponsorship of Anheuser-Busch.

Auto racing

MID-OHIO: About 700 competitors will converge this week at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, for the SCCA National Championship Runoffs this week. Sept. 20-26. Among the drivers from this area: Tom Patton, of Hamilton, is a perennial threat in the GT-2 Class in a Sunbeam Tiger. Also: Scott Dick, Formula Continental, Cincinnati; Michael Kolthoff, Formula Ford, Hamilton; Bryan Floyd, GT-5, Cincinnati; Robert Bax, H Production, Cincinnati; Bill Braucksick, Sports 2000, Cincinnati; Richard Boenning, Showroom Stock C, Cincinnati. For tickets or more information on the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, call 1-800-MID-OHIO or click on www.midohio.com.

Basketball

WNBA: Reserve Asjha Jones scored a season-high 16 points and the Connecticut Sun clinched the regular-season Eastern Conference title for the first time in their six-year history with an 80-60 win over the Indiana Fever.