SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Cameron Beckman had more than just a tournament to worry about this week. His future on the PGA Tour was in jeopardy.

That's no concern, now.

The 38-year-old Beckman tapped in a par putt on the second playoff hole yesterday to complete a big comeback and beat Kevin Sutherland in the Frys.com Open.

"It's just been a tough year," Beckman said. "I honestly was thinking about quitting the game. That's how bad I felt. I can't explain to you how good I feel right now. I don't know what it was and why I did it, but I just felt good all day."

Beckman, 176th on the money list and 447th in the world ranking entering the tournament, had skipped eight weeks this season because of back problems and was in danger of losing his tour card. He already had filled out his application for qualifying school, a process he knows all too well.

"I sat down with my wife and said, 'What do you think?' " Beckman said. "I honestly was just trying to finish in the top 150 so I'd get to the (qualifying school) finals."

With the victory, worth $900,000, he's exempt for the next two years.

"He was playing with a lot more pressure than I was," Sutherland said.

Beckman was four shots behind Sutherland at the turn, then made birdies on five of the next seven holes. Sutherland missed putts of 13 and 9 feet that would have won it at the end of regulation and on the first playoff hole, also the 18th.

The second playoff hole was the 464-yard, par-4 17th, and it was a nightmare for Sutherland. His second shot sailed far to the right over a cart path and into the dirt. His third shot went over the green and down a hill.

Beckman, meanwhile, hit his second shot 6 1/2 feet from the pin. He just missed the putt, and the tap-in gave him his second PGA Tour victory. His first was the Southern Farm Bureau Classic seven years ago.

LPGA

ALFREDSSON TRIUMPHS

HAIKOU, China — Helen Alfredsson won the Grand China Air for her second LPGA Tour victory of the year, shooting a 7-under 65 for a three-stroke victory over 19-year-old Yani Tseng at West Coast Golf Club.

The 43-year-old Swede, Europe's 2007 Solheim Cup captain, finished at 12-under 204 after opening rounds of 70 and 69. She also won the Evian Masters in France.

Tseng, from Taiwan, closed with a 68. Laura Diaz, the first-round leader after a 63, shot a 72 to finish third, four strokes back in the tour's first event in China.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

COOK WINS AT&T TITLE

SAN ANTONIO — John Cook successfully defended his AT&T Championship title, shooting a 6-under 65 for a three-stroke victory over Keith Fergus.

Cook, bothered by a stomach ache, had a 16-under 197 total on the Oak Hills Country Club course and earned $247,500 for his second victory on the 50-and-over tour.

EUROPEAN PGA

GARCIA WINS AT HOME

CASTELLON, Spain — Sergio Garcia picked up his first European win in over three years on his home course and immediately dedicated the three-shot victory in the Castello Masters to the hospitalized Seve Ballesteros.

Garcia closed with a 4-under 67 for a 20-under 264 total at Club de Campo del Mediterraneo, the course where he has played since childhood and his father, Victor, is the club professional. Sweden's Peter Hedblom (66) finished second.

Garcia immediately turned the attention to Ballesteros, hospitalized in Madrid following surgery Friday to remove a malignant brain tumor. Ballesteros remains in stable but serious condition in intensive care.