SERGIO’S YEAR OF GLORY ROLLS ON
IT MAY be small beer compared to the Masters title he won in April but, in claiming the Andalucia Masters following another epic duel yesterday, Sergio Garcia added one more unforgettable day to his remarkable year. It began with a win over then Open champion Henrik Stenson in Dubai, continued with victory over Justin Rose at Augusta, and now comes this hard-fought success over Holland’s Joost Luiten. Just to complete the picture, he got married in July to American Angela Akins, who is expecting their first child next March. ‘It has been amazing,’ said Garcia, who was the tournament host. Garcia was not slow to bemoan his luck earlier in his career but he is certainly blessed with good fortune these days. Twice he hit drives over the closing holes that were destined for trouble and twice they bounced back into play off Valderrama’s cork trees. Given the margin of victory was just one stroke, with game Englishman Daniel Brooks finishing third to secure his card for next year, it made all the difference. ‘All three of us in the final group played really well,’ said Garcia. ‘Daniel played great with everything on the line for him. Every time I thought I was going to get away, Joost came back.’ It extends Garcia’s record at Valderrama to 12 top-ten finishes in 13 strokeplay events, including two wins. The 37-year-old is second in the Race to Dubai but has duly made inroads into Tommy Fleetwood’s lead. Scott Jamieson finished as top Scot. His closing 73 ensured a tie for sixth on three under. Meanwhile, the PGA Tour’s second successive tournament in the Far East saw Justin Thomas beat Marc Leishman in a sudden death play-off for the CJ Cup in South Korea. It was a sixth victory in the past 365 days for the American, who has moved to third in the world behind Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth.