Garcia jumps into share of lead with Fowler, Hoffman
AUGUSTA, Ga. — He looked, for all the world, disappointed, especially for someone who had just executed what he would call “hands down, the best bunker shot of my life.” But standing in the sand below the pin at Augusta National's 12th hole, Sergio Garcia bent at the knees, then kicked at the ground. His ball had trickled toward the hole, but lipped out. And so we appeared to get what we have expected for the better part of two decades from the Spaniard: petulance. Why me? Why is it always me?
As Garcia emerged from the bunker and tapped in for his par, all manner of events that might have fazed the younger version of him started to transpire. A scoring error made it seem, to fans scattered across the course, that he had made a triple bogey at the 10th, when he knew he had made only bogey. A tree grabbed his tee shot at the 14th and knocked it down. A five-foot birdie putt at 18 slid just right of the hole instead of falling in the jaws. Garcia's reaction: “It was fine.” It is dangerous to stitch together an athletic performance - such as Garcia's 69 Friday in the second round of the Masters, which gives him a share of the lead with Rickie Fowler, Charley Hoffman and Thomas Pieters at 4 under par headed to the weekend - with an overhauled attitude, and attribute one to the other. But it's also impossible to watch Garcia handle all that came with this Friday - more wind, for one - and not notice a difference. He is 37, and starting to act like it.
“Things have definitely changed,” Garcia said. “I think that I'm a little bit calmer now. I think that I'm working on trying to accept things . . . which can happen here and can happen anywhere.
“It's part of golf. It's not easy. It's much easier to say than to do it. But that's the challenge we always have, making sure that you accept the bad moments or the bad breaks with the good ones, and kind of move on.”
Reminder: This is Sergio Garcia who, five years ago, vented his frustration after the third round right here by outlining his self-doubt. “If I felt like I could win,” he said then, “I would do it.”
We don't yet know whether Garcia's performance here Friday - one which opened with three straight birdies - will lead to his first victory in this, his 74th major championship. We do know if he gets there, he will have defeated a leader board rife with the best names the 81st Masters has to offer.
Dustin Johnson, the world's No. 1 player, walked off the course before playing a shot in Thursday's first round, the victim of a freak back injury. Tiger Woods, a four-time champion here, never intended to compete, his own chronic back issues posing questions about his future. But heading into the weekend, just about every other significant name in the field is poised to be a factor.