Garcia lauds best putting round of his career

By Tony Jimenez

ASH (Reuters) - Sergio Garcia's putter, often his Achilles heel, turned into his best friend in the European Open final round on Sunday.

The 28-year-old Spaniard defied the wet and windy weather at the London Club, taking only 21 putts to fire a best-of-the-day 66 for a 13-under-par tally of 275.

"It was definitely the best putting round I have ever had," Garcia told reporters after finishing in second spot, seven strokes behind runaway winner Ross Fisher of Britain.

"I don't expect to putt like this every round. I would love to though because it would make the game easy.

"Now I know what Tiger Woods feels like 98 percent of the time he gets on the greens. It is a great feeling."

Equally heartening for the world number eight was the Ryder Cup boost he received by finishing second.

"I love that," said Garcia. "That's the best thing to come out of this week.

"Obviously I came here to try to win but my second goal was to get as many Ryder Cup points as possible and my round today helped a lot."