Sergio Garcia: As He Tells It

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Here to defend his title as the SMBC Singapore Open champion, Golf Asia sat down with the affable and smiling Spaniard who’s now a far cry from the young man who spat into the cup after his putt missed the hole.

Golf Asia : What about the SMBC Singapore Open brings you back?

Sergio: Obviously I’m the defending champion, and I love this great golf course. I really enjoy Singapore and everything it has to offer. It’s been a great week the past two years that I’ve been here, and that’s one of the reasons why I come.

Golf Asia: You cracked the code to the Serapong course last year to win, what made the difference compared to the previous time you played?

Sergio: I think the previous year I played ok just not as well. I also got to know the course a little bit better and I was able to get into a good rhythm, which let me get into the lead.

Golf Asia: 20 years with Adidas, there’s obviously something you like about them, what is it?

Sergio: I love the company itself and all the gear they make, from the shoes to the clothes, everything. And not just golf either, adicross, classics, Y3, everything they do is really cool. But more than anything, I love the people and the company itself, we’ve built a great relationship for the last twenty years. Anytime you can be around great people, it’s something of a no brainer, it’s great to be a part of it.

Golf Asia: Tell us about your new shoes and how they perform for you?

Sergio: They’re great, very comfortable, grippy and stable when it comes down to swinging. The Bounce technology definitely helps when we’re walking so much. When we’re in tournaments, we walk anywhere up to 15 or 16 kilometres a day at least, so to be able to have a shoe that cushions against those hard hits into the ground is great, it’s taking care of my feet. If my feet don’t feel well, then everything else about my body gets affected too. So It is very important to have a good pair of shoes. I think they also look great, it’s a winner.

Golf Asia: : You won The 2017 Masters on what would have been Seve’s 60th birthday, what were your thoughts when that final putt sank?

Sergio: It was vey special because Seve Ballesteros is one of my idols, so to be able to win at Augusta where Seve’s done so well before and on what would have been his 60th birthday, it was a week that was meant to happen.

I’m very proud to be the one that did it.

Golf Asia: And your putting has improved tremendously, did the claw grip have anything to do with it?

Sergio: Definitely. It’s given me more consistency and that’s important. I think that with a normal grip, there were rounds where I putted well, and also rounds where I didn’t. That extra consistency from the grip change has definitely helped me a lot.

Golf Asia: Many poked fun at you during the 2002 US open for your pre-shot grip routine and you said, "My swing works for me, so why should I change it? I prefer to have a natural swing and play well rather than a perfect swing and not be able to play good."

You’ve stopped re-gripping. Was it a conscious decision to do so?

Sergio: It was more a comfort issue, I wasn’t doing it before. It just kind of happened that year where I didn’t feel quite comfortable with the right hand, which resulted in all the re-gripping. As soon as I had time to work on it, it went away, so it wasn’t a problem.

Golf Asia: Much has been said about the lag you generate, what are your thoughts about all that’s been said?

Sergio: Pretty much everything has been said, I love my swing. It’s unique and it’s my very own, and it’s worked for more than 20 years since when I was an amateur. Obviously it has some really great things,

and what we try to do is to improve on that motion without having to change too much.

Golf Asia: Cameron Champ, what do you think of his swing lag and how much speed he generates for someone his size?

Sergio: Unfortunately I haven’t seen him live although I’ve seen him on TV. He obviously hits it very far and very well. He’s the kind of player you look forward to seeing how he’s going to do in the near future, he’s got a beautiful swing. It’s going to be interesting to see how he develops and how he does on tour.

Golf Asia: Your thoughts on fellow Spaniard Jon Rahm?

Sergio: He’s a wonderful player, we’ve all seen it. He’s been on tour for about 3 years now, and he’s very consistent. He’s a big player, very big, very tall, and very powerful. You can see it in the way he hits the ball, but he’s also got a great short game and he’s a great putter that probably people don’t give him enough credit for that. It’s a good mix of skill sets he’s got, it’s great for him to be Spanish and we’re just proud for him to do so well.

Golf Asia: Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal, their greatest advice to you?

Sergio: There have been many. Some of the things they’ve always said to me Is to keep being who I am, to keep enjoying the game, be respectful, and realise that no one is bigger than the game.

Golf Asia: The Ryder Cup, how would you captain it given the chance?

Sergio: How? I don’t know, I don’t really want to think about it because I don’t want it to happen for awhile yet. When the time comes we’ll figure it out, but I’ll just to make sure the players are as comfortable as possible so they can play. To me, that’s the best way possible.

Golf Asia: Nick Faldo had 25 points in 11 appearances, You’ve overtaken him as the all-time Ryder Cup points leader, with 25½ points in 9 appearances, what is it about you that is so formidable in matchplay?

Sergio: I love the Ryder Cup and I’ve always enjoyed matchplay as I’m usually

quite good at it. I’ve just been fortunate to play well at the Ryder Cup, and to have great partners that have helped me win matches and points. It’s just been a good combination of those things.

Golf Asia: Patrick Reed, your thoughts him as a Ryder Cup player.

Sergio: He’s a wonderful player, very enthusiastic and charismatic. He’s done very well for the U.S. Team when it comes down to the Ryder Cup. He’s the kind of guy you’re never looking forward to playing in the Ryder Cup because he’s going to bring everything he’s got to the match.

Golf Asia: What do you think Europe did right that America didn’t at Le Golf National to win?

Sergio: I don’t know what they didn’t do right, but I know Europe came together as a team very well. The feeling that we had between us was amazing. Even on the first morning when we were 3-1 down no one panicked. We were all comfortable and happy, because we knew we could turn it around. Then we got going very nicely and turned in an amazing win.

Golf Asia: What’s next for Sergio Garcia?

Sergio: We’ll see. Hopefully many more great things like building up a great family, and it would be nice to win more majors so we’ll work on that.