Time to stop doubting Sergio Garcia’s nerve

If you described Paul McGinley as one of the best readers of a golfer’s body language and mindset, you wouldn’t find many people arguing the case against. It was McGinley’s appreciation of what was going on in one of his team member’s minds as well as the state of their swing that made him arguably the best European Ryder Cup captain there has been. Certainly in the top three.

So when the Irishman voiced his concerns on Sky Sports about Sergio Garcia’s demeanour between his downhill putt to win the Masters sliding by the hole and his tee shot in the play-off, it added to the suspicion of most of us that Garcia was about to do what he was always accused of doing when it was crunch time at a major he was contending for – crumble.

Steely-eyed fiancée Angela Akins looked in a better emotional place to go back up the 18th than her chin-onthe-chest intended.

If McGinley’s fears about Garcia’s deflation had proved to be well-placed and he lost out to Justin Rose in extra-time, the 2017 Masters would have been boxed off as another pressure-induced meltdown.

“Bottler” and “choker” would have been very popular post-event descriptions.

Garcia’s triumph points to the overuse of the B and C words in sport, particularly golf.

The Spaniard didn’t suddenly find new levels of resolve and determination that the likes of Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood haven’t been able to summon.

The Garcia-Rose duel had echoes of Monty-Els in their US Open headto-head. On that occasion the Scot missed a six-foot putt on 17 when the pair were tied for the lead but it was no more of a bottle or choke than Garcia’s short-distance efforts on 16 and 18 at Augusta last Sunday evening. The difference? When it came to the nitty-gritty, on these occasions Els was better than Rose.

McGinley’s instincts were probably correct. Garcia could well have been wobbling. It’s just that his opponent couldn’t take advantage of it.

Every golfer has moments when his technique lets him down, the doubts creep in or the situation gets the better of him. Some get punished for it, others don’t.

Garcia isn’t a bottler or a choker transformed. He wasn’t one in the first place. The Angus Theory

It gets said that winning the Premier League title in England is harder for clubs in London than the north west because of the number of derbies the sides in the capital have to play as opposed to Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool. Call it the London Theory. Well, League Two this season has had an Angus Theory. For Forfar at least, that is.

After the weekend defeat to Montrose, Gary Bollan’s men have won just a single match of their eight encounters with their two local rivals.

Take out the derbies and they’d have the league title in the boardroom already. They may yet win their division but Forfar are certainly no kings of Angus. 10 out of 10 for Lennon and Hibs

I haven’t seen much of Hibs this season but I’ve heard plenty of people say the 2016-17 side isn’t as easy on the eye as the Scottish Cup-winning one.

It didn’t need to be. It needed to be fit for purpose to win the Championship, which Alan Stubbs’s wasn’t. Neil Lennon deserves 10 out of 10.

Garcia isn’t a bottler or a choker. He wasn’t one in the first place

Picture: AP. Sergio Garcia reacts after making his birdie putt on the 18th green to win the Masters.