Sergio Garcia finally joins members-only club with green jacket

Five years ago, he said he’d never win here or at any other major golf championship. Sunday, he did.

Sergio Garcia, the 37-year-old Spaniard who has been a fixture in professional golf for almost 20 years, won the 81st Masters Tournament in dazzling fashion, making birdie on the first playoff hole to top Justin Rose and win his first major.

Garcia had two putts to win when he lined up for his decisive shot. When the 12-footer dropped for birdie, he fell into a deep crouch and let out several loud screams, blowing kisses to a roaring gallery at the 18th green, punching the putting surface and finally hugging fiancée Angela Akins.

“I’m thrilled to be standing here this late on Sunday evening,” the green-jacketed Garcia said from the Masters interview room at 8:30 p.m. “It’s been an amazing week, and I’m going to enjoy it for the rest of my life.”

Garcia shot 3-under-par 69 Sunday and finished at 9-under overall. His 279 strokes in regulation were the fewest in any of the 14 Masters in which he has made the cut.

“I knew I was playing well,” Garcia said. “I was very calm, much calmer than yesterday, much calmer than I have felt in any major championship on Sunday. Obviously, Justin wasn’t making it easy, but I knew what I was capable of doing and I believed I could do it.”

Garcia was playing his 71st consecutive major championship and had the title of “best player never to win a major” so long, that he began to think he would never shake it.

During the 2012 Masters, he told Spanish reporters, “I’m not good enough and today I know it. I’ve been trying for 13 years and I don’t feel capable of winning. I don’t know what happened to me. Maybe it’s something psychological. … After 13 years, my chances are over. I’m not good enough for the majors. That’s it.”

He disowned that comment this week, saying after his second round that, “I was frustrated (then). I’ve shown myself many times after that, that I can contend and I can truly feel like I can win, not only one, but more than one.”

He got his one, at least, and no longer has to answer why he never won a major.

“Now, I’ll have to answer, I guess, if I’m the best player to only win one,” he said, “but I can live with that. I have a beautiful life, major or no major. I have an amazing life.

“I have so many people who care for me and love me and support me. Obviously, this is something I wanted to do for a long time, but it never felt like a horror movie. A little bit of a drama, maybe. But with a happy ending.”

His first major didn’t come without a fight. Rose led by two shots after the 12th hole, and Garcia hit his drive on No. 13 so far left that he had to take a penalty drop because of an unplayable lie. He saved par on that hole to stay within two shots of Rose, who pointed to that as the difference in the tournament.

“That little two-shot swing there was when he was back in the tournament,” the Englishman said.

Garcia knotted the score at 9-under with an eagle on No. 15, becoming the first Masters champion to eagle No. 15 in the final round since fellow Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal. Garcia’s approach shot came two inches from landing in the cup before hitting the pin and rolling to 14 feet.

Rose then birdied No. 16 while Garcia left a 6-foot birdie putt just short, giving Rose a one-stroke lead. Rose gave that shot back with a bogey out of the bunker on No. 17, knotting the players at 9-under again. Both missed makeable birdie putts on the 72nd hole, Rose from seven feet and Garcia from five feet, setting up the playoff.

The victory came on what would have been Seve Ballesteros’ 60th birthday. Ballesteros was Garcia’s childhood golfing hero, and Garcia had to answer questions all week about what it might mean to win the tournament on Ballesteros’ birthday. He could finally answer Sunday.

“It definitely popped in my mind a few times, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “I’m sure he helped a little bit with some of those shots and some of those putts.”

This story was originally published April 10, 2017 at 2:29 AM with the headline "Sergio Garcia finally joins members-only club with green jacket."