Sergio – the boy who grew up to be better than Ballesteros
Ole Senors – Manuel Pinero (and as he is now, inset), Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Canizares and Jose Rivero celebrate Europe’s breakthrough Ryder Cup win at The Belfry in 1985.
“Seve was obviously Seve with his charisma and his own unique way of playing, but Sergio is a more consistent and better player than Seve was from tee to green.
“Seve won five Majors and had that tremendous character, the same as Jose Maria. But Sergio’s game is certainly at their level, if not slightly above.”
Garcia’s victory was a wonderful boost for golf in Spain. It even knocked football off the front pages of the popular sports newspapers on Monday morning.”
The sport has suffered badly during the country’s economic crisis, losing a number of tournaments from the European Tour schedule in the last decade.
This year there isn’t even a Spanish Open on the schedule.
Pinero laments that, but he is confident that with Sergio and the emergence of 22- year- old Jon Rahm, golf in Spain can bounce back.
“Sergio’s victory left an incredible mark on sport in Spain,” he says.
“Journalists who normally write about football were writing about him winning The Masters. It was fantastic.
“Everyone in Spanish sport from tennis star Rafa Nadal to our top footballers was behind Sergio. That means a lot.
“Plus, this success comes at a very important time for us. The economic crisis has had an effect on the number of people playing golf.
“But this is a good reason for people to take it up or start playing again.
“And it’s not just Sergio, we now have Jon Rahm.
“This guy is an exceptional talent, not a run-of-the-mill player, and I think he’ll be World No.1 before you know it.
“The future is positive. We’re fortunate to have produced two such special players given the number of people who play compared to elsewhere.
“It’s clear we have two star players, so now I would love to see the Spanish Open return to the circuit.
“It’s the second oldest Open on the Continent. The people who run golf in Spain need to reflect long and hard on why a tournament with so much history and prestige is not being staged this year.”
Paul Dunne.