Tiger holes out to land his second Major. (Allsport)
Tiger Woods, who has been promising another major title all summer, finally delivered in Chicago on Sunday.
But the 23-year-old American superstar won the United States PGA championship at Medinah only after a titanic and thrilling battle with 19-year-old Spaniard Sergio Garcia.
The teenager, trying to become the youngest major winner for 129 years, had the massive compensation of clinching a Ryder Cup debut for next month's match in Boston.
He will take over from Nick Faldo as the youngest ever player in the match and, quite amazingly, he has booked his place after only four months as a professional.
Garcia also produced one of the shots of the year as he made his bid for glory - but it was not enough.
Woods, mightily relieved to add to his 1997 Masters crown, parred the last two holes to win with a closing 72 and an 11-under-par total of 277. Garcia was second a stroke behind, and Americans Jay Haas and Stewart Cink shared third spot two further back.
Woods was five clear with seven to play, but Garcia signalled his intent to make a fight of it over the closing stretch with a 20-foot birdie putt at the short 13th.
Minutes later Woods, having had his first bogey of the day on the 468-yard 12th, double-bogeyed the 13th, chipping over the green and missing from eight feet.
The gap was down to one as a result, but at the very moment he wanted to press Garcia drove into the trees on the 389-yard 15th and bogeyed.
When he drove directly behind a tree on the 452-yard next his hopes appeared over, but in a moment of drama that will be replayed time and time again he went for what seemed an impossible shot.
In Seve Ballesteros-style he went for the green and, running after it, made it and saved his par.
Woods then hit by far the better drive on the hole but tried to crush an eight-iron 160 yards up the hill only for it to come down in the guarding bunker.
Failing to get up and down put the gap between them back to one, but that was the way it remained.
Garcia missed from 15 and 14 feet on the final two greens, and Woods - after saving par from the rough at the short 17th with a crucial seven-foot putt - safely found the green in two on the last and two-putted from 20 feet.
"It was amazing," said Garcia, emulating Ballesteros' feat at the Open in 1976 by finishing runner-up in a major at 19.
"It was the best week of my life. I have never had so much fun playing golf. It was unbelievable."
Woods, round in 72 to Garcia's 71, said after hugging both his mother, girlfriend and caddie: "Unfortunately I hit a couple of bad shots and I just tried to hold off Sergio.
"It didn't come in the way I wanted. But Sergio was playing wonderful golf, and you could see the fans rooting for him - and rightfully so."
Joint leader with Canadian left-hander Mike Weir with a round to play, Woods needed only three holes to establish a three-stroke advantage as Weir collapsed to an 80.
Woods, third at the US Open in June and seventh in the Open at Carnoustie last month, won the Masters by a runaway 12-shot margin two years ago - but this turned into an altogether different experience.
He had a sensational shot as well, reaching the green at the 588-yard seventh with a majestic two-iron of more than 260 yards, and two-putted for the third birdie of the day.
His fourth came with a curling 15-foot putt on the 11th, and on 15 under he was only two short of the championship record. But there was to be no cruise to victory - far from it.
Colin Montgomerie, prepared to give Woods the title after the third round, finished in a tie for sixth on six under after a third 70 of the week.
But, while Garcia clapped the crowd at the end, Montgomerie pointed his putter accusingly after holing for birdie at the last, presumably after another unwelcome comment from the gallery.
Lee Westwood, whose own hopes were badly dented by a 74 playing with Woods in the third round, managed only a closing 75 and dropped to 16th place.
Ryder Cup captain Mark James had earlier spoken of his admiration for Garcia after giving a performance which the young Spaniard would love to have been able to emulate.
James closed the championship with a five-under-par 67. But having started the day joint 69th of the 74 players he still finished in mid-table on the two-over-par mark of 290.
"He is obviously a huge talent, and it looks like he is going to be around for a long time to come," said James, who names his two wild card selections after the final counting event in Munich next Sunday.
"The way he has played in the States is just incredible. To play so maturely (at such an age) is unusual.
"I basically can't see any weakness."
The 45-year-old from Ilkley could still qualify himself next week - but only then will he reveal whether he intends to play at Brookline in six weeks' time and hand over the captaincy. All he has said so far is that he will not attempt both jobs.
James was also asked about Nick Faldo's chances of a wild card but chose to keep things close to his chest on that as well. Faldo closed disappointingly with two 75s and was only 41st.
James did say: "Nick knows he has had to show some form. I would love a on-form Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam, even Peter Oosterhuis." Oosterhuis, a Ryder Cup star when James made his own debut, is now a television commentator.
"There comes a time when everyone has to move over, and if that is this year then so be it. That's life," said James.
"Sergio is the only one (of Europe's 23-strong contingent) who has moved further forward this week. Nobody else has done anything particularly noteworthy.
"This tournament is some use to me, but I would not put too much stock in one tournament. I would not like to be judged on one tournament."
Faldo did not make the impression he hoped in the final round, his second 75 containing double bogeys at the second and 13th, both par threes.
"It's all in Mark's hands now - as simple as that," he said.
"I hit a lot of good shots but really paid for a few bad ones."
He, like Garcia, was in the water at the second, while on the 219-yard 13th he missed the green, chipped and then three-putted.
Meanwhile, Scotland's Andrew Coltart, now down to 11th in the table because of Garcia's performance, repaired some of the damage of his Saturday 80, but a 71 still left him nine over and near the rear of the field.
Bernhard Langer, 11th in the standings, had a 76 for eight over, while Swede Jesper Parnevik - expected to be handed a wild card - birdied the last to finish three under with Miguel Angel Jimenez.
As for the American team, Jeff Maggert was a much relieved man. He had missed the halfway cut, but hung on to 10th place when Bob Estes, needing fifth place, finished joint sixth with Montgomerie. American captain Ben Crenshaw is expected to name Tom Lehman and either Fred Couples or Lee Janzen as his two wild cards.
Collated final round totals in the 81st United States PGA golf championship at Medinah No 3, Chicago, Illinois:
(USA unless stated, par 72)
277 T Woods 70 67 68 72 (£389,658)
278 S Garcia (Spa) 66 73 68 71 (£233,795)
280 J Haas 68 67 75 70, S Cink 69 70 68 73 (£125,556 each)
281 N Price (Zim) 70 71 69 71 (£79,787)
282 B Estes 71 70 72 69, C Montgomerie (Gbr) 72 70 70 70
284 S Pate 72 70 73 69, J Furyk 71 70 69 74
285 MA Jimenez (Spa) 70 70 75 70, J Parnevik (Swe) 72 70 73 70, C Perry 70 73 71 71, C Pavin 69 74 71 71, D Duval 70 71 72 72, M Weir (Can) 68 68 69 80
287 G Hjertstedt (Swe) 72 70 73 72, L Westwood (Gbr) 70 68 74 75, M Brooks 70 73 70 74, B Jobe 69 74 69 75, G Turner (Nzl) 73 69 70 75
288 S Hoch 71 71 75 71, JL Lewis 73 70 74 71, D Frost (Rsa) 75 68 74 71, K Wentworth 72 70 72 74, S Kendall 74 65 71 78
289 J Van de Velde (Fra) 74 70 75 70, H Sutton 72 73 73 71, F Couples 73 69 75 72, C Franco (Para) 72 71 71 75, J Kelly 69 74 71 75
290 M James (Gbr) 70 74 79 67, T Tryba 70 72 76 72, P Goydos 73 70 71 76
291 T Lehman 70 74 76 71, B Mayfair 75 69 75 72, S Verplank 73 72 73 73, P Lawrie (Gbr) 73 72 72 74, S Flesch 73 71 72 75, L Wadkins 72 69 74 76, K Perry 74 69 72 76
292 A Cabrera (Arg) 73 73 74 72, R Karlsson (Swe) 70 76 73 73, C DiMarco 74 71 74 73, H Irwin 70 69 78 75, N Faldo (Gbr) 71 71 75 75, P Azinger 77 69 71 75, D Waldorf 74 71 70 77, B Watts 69 71 72 80
293 R Mediate 71 72 78 72, V Singh (Fiji) 74 70 77 72, O Browne 73 72 74 74, D Love 71 72 75 75, K Triplett 73 70 70 80
294 A Magee 72 72 77 73, JP Hayes 68 76 76 74, J Sluman 72 73 73 76
295 B Tway 73 71 80 71, P Stewart 75 71 75 74, M O'Meara 72 74 73 76, P Mickelson 72 72 74 77
296 B Faxon 72 73 77 74, M Calcavecchia 71 75 76 74, B Langer (Ger) 71 75 74 76, G Kraft 74 70 75 77
297 A Coltart (Gbr) 72 74 80 71, M Reid 72 74 76 75, A Cejka (Ger) 71 73 75 78
298 B Zabriski 70 75 77 76, S Dunlap 74 72 71 81
299 N Ozaki (Jpn) 73 73 78 75, T Bjorn (Den) 73 73 78 75, R Beem 72 73 78 76
300 F Funk 75 69 76 80
Withdrew: J Sindelar
