Garcia gets his green jacket, wins Masters in playoff
Sergio Garcia won the first major championship of his career with a dramatic, suddendeath victory over Justin Rose at the Masters on Sunday.
Garcia finally broke through in his 71st major as a professional, and nearly 18 years after he was runnerup to Tiger Woods in a breakthrough performance in the PGA Cham- pionship.
After missing a five-foot birdie at the 72nd hole, Garcia had to get through one extra hole to finally remove the stigma of being considered the best player never to win one of golf’s biggest events.
It was worth the wait. Playing the 18th hole again, Rose got in trouble with an errant tee shot, forcing him to punch out from behind a giant magnolia tree. He missed a 14-foot par-saving putt that would’ve put some pressure on the Spaniard.
It didn’t matter. Garcia curled in a 12-foot birdie that gave him the green jacket.
Rose missed a seven-footer for birdie at the 18th hole, giving Garcia a chance to win in regulation.
It was the 17th time in Masters history that the tournament had been decided by a playoff.
Rose took the lead at the 16th hole with a brilliant tee shot, which set up an eight-foot birdie putt that pushed his score to 10 under. But Rose gave up the advantage when he failed to get up and down from a bunker in front of the 17th green, settling for a bogey.
This is the fourth time Garcia played in the final group at a major, and the first since the 2007 British Open at Carnoustie. Rose played in the final group at the Masters for the second time in three years.
Canadian Adam Hadwin, playing in his first Masters, carded a 70 yesterday to finish tied for 36th at 6-over.