The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Garcia: Wedding no distraction
Masters champion set for British Open, then will marry in Texas.
Sergio Garcia won’t be wearing his green jacket from Augusta National at his wedding.
What about pouring champagne from a claret jug?
Garcia doesn’t have one yet, though he loves the thought of such possibilities, especially considering that only four months ago, the 36-year-old Spaniard was learning to accept his career might end without a major. Now he is a Masters champion who is soaking up a year of celebration.
He arrived at Royal Birkdale with two big events on the horizon.
First up starting Thursday is the British Open, the major where he has had his most consistent success, with 10 top-10 finishes, including the last three in a row. And then he’s off to Texas for his marriage July 29 to Angela Akins.
For Garcia, it’s one major event at a time.
His mind is on Royal Birkdale, traditionally one of the toughest links courses in England.
“It’s going to be where it has to be this week,” Garcia said. “Angela has been doing a great job of getting everything ready for the wedding, and obviously, we’re really excited for next week. But we have something that we’re also extremely excited about this week. And we want to be here giving everything we have, and hopefully with a chance on Sunday.”
Garcia wants what Henrik Stenson returned on Monday.
The defending champion’s return of the claret jug used to be a mere formality. The Royal & Ancient turned it into a show Monday, with the British Open encouraging 500 fans to fill the grandstand around the first tee to witness the occasion.
And now the jug is up for grabs again.
Stenson is a contender. Padraig Harrington won the title the last time the British Open was at Royal Birkdale. In 2008, he started the week with a wrist injury and ended it with a four-shot victory over Ian Poulter, becoming Europe’s first back-to-back Open champion in more than a century.
“I enjoy the week because I’m not quite defending, but I’m coming back here and making the most of it,” Harrington said. “Because these good feelings don’t come around that often.”
Garcia is a logical choice to challenge on just about any links.
This is the major he grew up watching in Spain — he was 8 when Seve Ballesteros won his third British Open, in 1988 at St. Andrews. He dreamed of winning all four majors, and now that he finally has one, he’s thinking that way again.
Asked the unanswerable question Monday — would it mean more to own a green jacket or a silver jug? — Garcia said both were amazing.
“At the moment, the green jacket means more because I have it,” he said. “But everybody knows how much I love the Open Championship. And I would love to at least have one of them before I hang up the boot. So definitely, it’s something that I would like to achieve. And we’re going to give it a shot this week.”
Garcia swears the Masters didn’t change him. And much like that weekend at Augusta National, he has managed to keep his expectations to a minimum, knowing how fickle golf can be.
He tied for 21st in the U.S. Open, and the next weekend Andres Romero raced by Garcia in the final round in Germany to win the BMW International Open. Garcia hasn’t played in the month since then, but he has every reason to believe his game is good while realizing that doesn’t mean anything until the Open starts.
“I can’t tell you if I’m going to be right up there on Sunday with a chance,” Garcia said. “I’m hoping that I will be, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that every week.”