Garcia sees ‘great years’ ahead after Masters win

Spaniard confident of more big wins after finally lifting first major title

Sergio Garcia believes he can win more of golf’s biggest prizes after finally claiming his first major title at the 74th attempt in an unforgettable Masters.

The Spaniard was playing his 71st consecutive major at Augusta National, a streak stretching back to the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie.

A month later he was second to Tiger Woods in the US PGA Championship at the age of 19, but had since recorded a further 21 top-10 finishes without tasting success.

All that changed in dramatic fashion on Sunday when he came out on top in a thrilling final-round duel with Justin Rose, a birdie on the first play-off hole making Garcia the third Spanish winner of the Masters – and on what would have been the 60th birthday of two-time champion Seve Ballesteros for good measure.

Having claimed in 2012 he was not good enough to win a major, a more positive attitude has been key to Garcia’s success and the 37-year-old is due to marry fiancee Angela Akins in July.

“Everybody that is around me is helping me, making me not only a better golfer but a better person,” Garcia said.

“It’s not easy, because I know how much of a hard-headed man I can be sometimes, but it’s been great.

“And for me, the most positive thing is that I feel like I have so much room for improvement.

“Obviously I’m 37. I’m not 22 or 25 any more, but I feel I still have a lot of great years in me and I’m excited for those.”

Much was made of the connection to Ballesteros throughout the week, but Garcia highlighted the influence of another Spanish two-time Masters champion, Jose Maria Olazabal.

Olazabal sent Garcia a message on the eve of the tournament with words of advice and encouragement,

“He’s a great man and we’ve had a great relationship for many, many years. To be able to join him and Seve as Masters champions from Spain, it’s unbelievable,” Garcia said.

Garcia and Rose both missed birdie chances on the 72nd hole, but the Spaniard made no mistake the second time around before letting out a roar of celebration.

“A lot of things were going on through my mind,” Garcia added. “Everybody that supported me, my sponsors, my moments that unfortunately didn’t go the way I wanted.

“And some of the moments I’ve had here at Augusta that maybe I haven’t enjoyed as much and how stupid I really was trying to fight against something that you can’t fight – and how proud I was of accepting things.

“I’m not going to lie – it’s not the golf course that I’m most comfortable in, because I’ve become more of a fader than a drawer of the ball, and this golf course is asking you to hit a lot of draws.

“But I knew that I could still work it around, you know, if I just accepted what was happening. So I’m very proud of that.”

Picture: Getty. Sergio Garcia finally gets his hands on a major title at the age of 37.