Giddy Garcia pumped for Open
After purging the majors demon that had haunted his career for nearly 20 years at the Masters, Sergio Garcia is setting his sights on the British Open at Southport in July.
After four runner-up finishes at majors, the Spaniard ended close to two decades of heartbreak on Sunday at Augusta, beating England’s Justin Rose in a playoff.
“It’s better late than never,” Garcia joked in an interview with Radio Marca.
“I have to continue on the same path. I hope this is not the last. The Masters is like the Champions League (Europe’s biggest soccer club competition), but the British Open is like the Champions’ Champions League.”
Garcia played in 74 majors before finally notching his first championship.
Triumph finally came when he drained a 12-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole of a playoff against Rose.
“I hit it where I wanted to,” Garcia said. “I didn’t ask my caddie’s opinion because the putt fell towards the left.
“On the five previous holes I struck the ball very well. I knew there was the possibility of making a birdie in the playoff.”
Garcia’s victory came on what would have been the 60th birthday of his late compatriot Severiano Ballesteros, who died of brain cancer in 2011.
Another Spanish icon, Jose Maria Olazabal, also won at Augusta, in 1994 and 1999.
“I dedicated the victory to Severiano. I was able to win in the same place that my two idols had done,” Garcia said.
“Olazabal sent me a very nice message in which he told me that he loved me and that I should have a lot of confidence in myself.”