Garica dedicates win to uncles
GOLF
JACKSON: Spaniard Sergio Garcia made a closing birdie to secure a oneshot victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi, yesterday that he dedicated to two uncles he lost to Covid19.
Garcia, who went out in the final pairing and with a threeway share of the lead, tapped in from 60cm at the last hole for a 5under 67 that took him to 19under and secured his first PGA Tour triumph since the 2017 Masters.
‘‘[My dad is] one of nine siblings, and unfortunately we lost two of his brothers because of
Covid, one at the beginning, Uncle Paco, and one just last Saturday actually, not yesterday but the Saturday before, Uncle Angel,’’ Garcia said after earning his 11th PGA Tour victory. ‘‘You know, it’s sad. It’s sad. ‘‘And I know that a lot of families have lost a lot more people, but you never want to lose anyone like that, and I wanted to win this for them.’’
Runnerup Peter Malnati, who began the day five shots behind Garcia, JT Poston (70) and Cameron Davis (72), shot a 63 and waited for nearly two hours to see if it would be enough.
Garcia was two shots behind Malnati with five holes to play but grabbed a share of the lead with an eagle at the par5 15th where his approach shot from 240m hit the collar of the green and rolled to 90cm from the cup.
The Spaniard then put his approach shot on the par4 final hole to 60cm for a tapin birdie. — Reuters