Daily Star

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- By IAIN MACFARLANE

SERGIO GARCIA has admitted he’s not spooked by his Carnoustie ghosts and the course owes him nothing.

Garcia would be forgiven if he was haunted by his previous two Opens in Angus.

In 1999, as a raw 19-year-old, he broke down in tears in his mother’s arms after firing a first-round

89.

Eight years later the Spaniard had a putt to win the

Claret Jug on the

72nd hole but watched the ball slip by the cup, allowing Padraig Harrington to triumph in a play-off.

But after completing his final plans yesterday Garcia

(right) said: ‘I don’t believe there is such a thing as a course owing you anything.

“You have to earn it. What happens, happens.

“It took me a couple of days to get over it in ’07.

It was nice that I wasn’t playing the week after, so I was able to relax, spend some time with family and friends. “You fall, you get up again. And you go at it.

“If I play like I did in 2007, sure, it should put me in a good position. I take that as a positive.”

As a kid, Garcia marvelled at the skills of the legendary Seve Ballestero­s and he’d love to follow in his idol’s footprints as an Open champion. The 2017 Masters winner said: “To get a Claret Jug to go with the Green Jacket would be amazing. “Not just because of the history of Seve but the whole thing around this. “It’s one of my favourite tournament­s. “I always feel that the crowds here have been amazing to me. It makes it very, very special.” Garcia tees off today at 3.10pm in the company of American Bryson DeChambeau and Shubhankar Sharma of India.

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