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GREENSBORO — Finally getting its day in the sun, the Wyndham Championship finally looked comfortable in its summer setting.

After years of hand-wringing over its sweltering date on the PGA calendar and three days of wringing out a wet golf course, Sunday's final round was a classic. After rain delays and interrupted rounds and days that stretched into nights, it was fitting that the final round of the 70th edition of the Triad's PGA Tour event came with an epilogue.

Ryan Moore, who came here in 2004 by special invitation, broke free from a wild bunch of contenders that included Sergio Garcia right to the bitter end. Moore outlasted Kevin Stadler, the son of 1980 GGO champion Craig Stadler, and Jason Bohn, who made a run at 59 before settling for a bogey-free 62, in a three-hole playoff.

Garcia might've provided the moment of the tournament, in his inimitable style, when his sand shot at the 18th hole stopped at the edge of the cup as a massive crowd around the final green groaned in disbelief.

The erratic Spaniard managed a smile and doffed his cap to the roaring masses, nearly all of whom were pulling for him to win.

The tournament got its signature champion after all, a first-time winner who played his first regular tour event at Forest Oaks five years ago. Sedgefield was only a glimmer in our eyes then, a distant memory and a nagging reminder of how this tournament once captured the imagination of an entire city.

Last year's return to Sedgefield was trumpeted as a return to golf's roots, and those close to the tournament quietly whispered that the summer date might be temporary. The second August at Sedgefield felt different from the first, however. The golf course repelled the runs at 59 and ultimately held up under its most stringent test.

When the tournament ended, and some 33,000 people began walking away from the 18th green, the sun dropped behind the clouds and created a beautiful summer setting. It was as if it were meant to be.

The efforts to move the Wyndham to a spring date will continue behind the scenes. Such a move would make for more pleasant temperatures, fewer competing events on a crowded sports calendar and course conditions that would make the Donald Ross-designed layout play more like it was intended. But it might not bring the one thing it wants more than anything else: a stronger field.

This week was another subtle reminder to be careful what you wish for. We were one roll of a golf ball from a dramatic final shot by one of sport's most enigmatic figures joining the playoff. Garcia led by three shots in the final round, and his meltdown was classic Sergio. And still he had a shot to make the playoff.

Watching him over the last 11 holes was excruciating sports drama. From the tournament's high-water mark, 18-under through 61 holes, Garcia sputtered down the stretch, then fought back for one last shot. His sand blast broke the silence of the enclosed gallery surrounding the 18th green, and the cry that went up as the ball stopped rolling might have been the loudest moment in the long history of the event.

He forced a smile.

"I guess it is what it is," he said.

That could be said for the Wyndham, too. The old tournament has been through so much in it history, most anything seems temporary. The controversial remarks of Sam Snead, all those years ago, still sting out at Starmount, which banned him from returning, then named its street after him. The move to Forest Oaks, originally on a three-year deal, became a long-running agreement that saw the tournament bring in sponsors and eventually saw the Jaycees removed from control. The truth is, Forest Oaks saved the tournament.

The decision to move back to Sedgefield was seen as a last-gasp effort to ensure the tournament's standing, a move that accompanied new leadership and old money and a dream of returning the event to its former glory. The summer dates bothered most everybody, who believe still that it will never attract the biggest names — i.e., Tiger and Phil.

But two years into the tournament's Sedgefield rerun, it's apparent that August is better than September, which is better than October, and it's better than March and maybe not all that much different than April. We'll see. The dream date of May might bring everything the tournament needs and still not get Tiger and Phil.

And it could always get worse.

This week saw the Wyndham settle into its summer pattern, attract huge galleries despite atrocious weather, and finish with a leaderboard that included Moore and Stadler and Sergio and Freddie and Snedeker and Justin Rose in the top 10. Adam Scott and John Daly and U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover were here, and 32,000 people came to watch Sunday.

Ultimately, that's how this Wyndham Championship will be remembered. The course held its own against impossible conditions, playing soft and forgiving and still defending par better than last year, better than two of the May tournaments, better than anyone predicted.

The summer date might be with us for a while. And maybe it will change sooner than we think. Either way seemed OK late Sunday as the sun set on a tournament that was pretty cool despite it all.

Contact Ed Hardin at 373-7069 or ed.hardin@news-record.com