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Posted: 2017-04-10 04:36:53

Updated April 10, 2017 15:42:29

Sergio Garcia was tipped for golfing greatness from an early age, but his journey to a first major title has been far longer and more fraught than anyone could have expected.

The son of a Spanish golf club professional, he made the cut in a European Tour event at 15, and turned pro himself at 18.

Blessed by abundant natural talent, and nurtured by two of the greats of Spanish golf in Seve Ballesteros and Jose-Maria Olazabal, Garcia was seemingly destined to win major titles.

But his fragile temperament and a habit of melting down at crucial moments often left him frustrated.

Garcia's approach thrills the fans

At just 19 years of age, he introduced himself to a worldwide audience at the 1999 PGA Championship, where he was runner-up to Tiger Woods.

He gave a glimpse of his potential on the 16th hole, with his ball jammed up against a tree off the fairway.

Sergio was in trouble, without even a sight of the green, but rather than play safe he closed his eyes and hit a low fade that avoided the tree trunk and ran up the fairway. He sprinted up the hill after the ball, leaping in the air to try and see the result - it had ended up on the green.

Garcia fell just one stroke short, but his courage and shot-making ability had experts predicting he and Woods would have a long rivalry at major titles.

It never quite materialised, as Woods took all before him winning 14 majors, while Garcia found it impossible to seal the deal in golf's big four tournaments.

Open miss haunts Sergio

In 2007, Garcia led by three going into the final round of the British Open at Carnoustie. He struggled on the final day, but was involved in a tough contest with Ireland's Padraig Harrington.

Harrington looked to have blown his chances when he hit his ball twice into the waters of the Barry Burn on the 18th to register a double-bogey six, so Garcia led by one coming down the last.

The Spanish star landed in a bunker, but chipped out to give himself a testing 10-foot putt for par to win the Open.

It lipped out, however, sending him to a four-hole play-off with Harrington. Garcia started badly with a bogey, putting him two strokes behind the Irishman, and he never really recovered.

His loss was devastating, with a tearful Garcia being consoled by fellow Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Water hazards give Garcia grief

It was not officially a major, but the Players Championship - often called the "fifth major" - in 2013 marked another epic failure with the pressure on.

In the final round at Sawgrass, Garcia came to the famous par-three 17th hole, with its island green, as co-leader with Woods at 13-under, only to drop his iron shot short into the water.

Then he hit another ball in the water, and ended up taking a quadruple-bogey seven to destroy his chances.

To add insult to injury, Sergio hit his tee shot in the water on the 18th, to drop a total of six strokes in the last two holes.

The next year, he came to the PGA Championship and was in the mix to win the title, but then he hit his tee shot - you have guessed it - in the water on the 16th hole to drop out of contention.

Drought appears never-ending

The more Garcia fell short of glory, the more he became a punchline for jokes about his inability to win majors, as crowds — particularly in America — got on his case with heckling.

It clearly was taking a toll on his confidence. This all culminated at the 2012 Masters, where Sergio was in the mix in the third round before dropping from contention with a 3-over 75.

He spoke bluntly to reporters after the round, saying: "I'm not good enough ... I don't have the thing I need to have.

"In 13 years, I've come to the conclusion that I need to play for second or third place."

In 2014, he added a fourth runner-up performance to his career tally, coming in behind Rory McIlroy at the British Open where he closed to two shots behind but could get no closer.

When the breakthrough came, you knew it was never going to come easy for Sergio.

A third-round 70 put him in the joint lead with England's Justin Rose going into the final day at Augusta, and it was the two old friends and Ryder Cup team-mates who went head-to-head over 18 holes.

Garcia led by two shots, but then the familiar prickle of tension emerged as Rose levelled it up by the turn.

When he hit the ball in a water hazard on 13, social media exploded with expectations that this was the start of an inevitable collapse from Garcia — but despite his penalty shot he managed to salvage a par.

This time, it would be different. He missed a putt to win on the final hole that stayed agonisingly right of the hole, but Garcia held his nerve to win the play-off that followed.

As he stood on the 18th green in triumph, the crowds chanting "Sergio, Sergio!" were the ultimate vindication as he sealed victory on what would have been Ballesteros' 60th birthday.

Finally, in his 74th major tournament, Garcia was a winner.

Topics: sport, golf, spain

First posted April 10, 2017 14:36:53

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