Five years after claiming he was not good enough to win a major, Sergio Garcia proved himself wrong in thrilling fashion by beating Justin Rose in a play-off for the Masters.
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“I was calm today, even when things weren’t going well, even when I might have said that it wasn’t meant to be”. “It’s a attractive thing to have”. His second shot, an 8-iron from 192 yards out, almost flew into the hole and left him 14 feet away from a 3.
The players returned to the 18th for a sudden-death play-off and Rose was unable to save par after pushing his drive into the trees, but Garcia fittingly finished the day in style by holing from 12 feet for birdie.
AN 18th hole Augusta putt-off crowned Sergio Garcia Masters king after a back-nine showdown for the ages.
Most different about Garcia is that he made it easy to root against him, blaming everything but his own shots and missed putts.
“It’s fantastic”, Garcia said. “I can’t pick holes in my performance”.
“I still have 20 or so left that I feel really primed and ready for”. “But for the most part, I’m not going to sit here and second guess one or two shots”.
But Garcia rallied to hole an 8-footer for par. Rose’s attempt grazed right by the hole, causing him to gasp and clasp his hand over his mouth. Rose’s tee-shot was arrow straight, finishing eight feet shy. But his putt never had a chance and veered right from the hole. He’d found the fairway, again, and he put it close, again.
Trouble has followed Garcia throughout his major career. Perhaps Ballesteros beckoned the golf gods on Garcia’s behalf, particularly when his second shot on the 13th on Saturday hung on the slope, refusing to roll into Rae’s Creek.
“It’s fun to be here, and that’s not the attitude I want”, Mickelson said. “I feel if he misses there I’m full clear and looking at Thomas Pieters and Matt Kuchar”.
Casey, who finished fourth here a year ago after a closing 67, had reached four under par after racing to the tur n in 32 with birdies on the second, third, eighth and ninth. He became the first Masters champion to be the only player in the field to play all four rounds under par since Tiger Woods in 1997 (10th overall). “Everybody that supported me, my sponsors, my moments that unfortunately didn’t go the way I wanted”. “I was like, ‘Well, if that’s what’s supposed to happen, let it happen”.
Rose three-putted the same hole for a par, and that recovery was all Garcia needed to get back in the groove.
Both hit excellent tee shorts before Rose got a great break with his approach shot to set up a birdie.
Spieth, the 2015 Masters champ, began the day at 4 under, two strokes behind co-leaders Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia and was thrilled about his chances of winning his second Masters. He and Rose have been butting heads since they were 14, but the distance between them grew as wide as a gulf when the Englishman notched his first major in 2013 at the U.S. Open. It happened, but only after a journey that twisted, turned and slithered until Garcia’s time arrived.
McGinley, meanwhile, admitted that he was starting to wonder whether Garcia would ever close the deal.
NOTEWORTHY: Garcia won the Masters in his 19th appearance, the most for any first-time champion. Remember, these are not the best careers of golfers who do not have majors but rather the best golfers now playing who have not won one.
Rose, who also closed with a 69, graciously patted Garcia’s cheek before they embraced.
Garcia was playing his 71st consecutive major championship, a streak stretching back to the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie.
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“[Garcia] deserves it as much as anyone”, Rose told CBS’ Dottie Pepper afterward. “I felt a calmness I never felt on a major Sunday”. On the Sunday morning drive to Augusta National, Garcia said nerves were at a minimum. After so many near-misses, final-round capitulations, and playoff defeats, Garcia held his nerve when it mattered most at Augusta. When he bogeyed Nos. At ease, he went with the flow. “I want to keep going forward and keep doing more things”. “This week I’ve done it better than I ever had”.
