Garcia on verge of major breakthrough at Masters

SIX MONTHS after being taunted by US Ryder Cup fans about having never won a major title, Sergio Garcia finds himself on the brink of a breakthrough at the Masters. The 37-year-old Spaniard, winless in 73 prior major starts, fired a two-under par 70 yesterday at Augusta National to join European Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose of England atop the leaderboard at six-under 210 for 54 holes. “Having a chance of winning a major and winning here at Augusta, it’s extra exciting,” Garcia said. “So you do have to calm yourself down, not get ahead of yourself, take some nice, deep breaths. And then just try to cope with whatever comes your way the best way possible. That’s really the only thing you can do.”

Supportive fans at Augusta National were a far cry from the crowd Garcia faced at the US Ryder Cup triumph last October at Hazeltine chanting, “You’ve never won a major.”

“I definitely know I haven’t won a major,” Garcia said to applause from his teammates. “I felt like maybe if I dream about it one day and I felt like I had a major, I definitely know I don’t have it. I’ve been reminded of it plenty of times.

“The only thing I can do is hopefully change that up, so the next time we come to the US they will tell me, ‘You only have one major,’ or something like that, which will sound a little bit better.”

Having a pal alongside in Rose, the 2013 US Open and 2016 Rio Olympic champion, will ease the tension a bit even if they are friendly rivals for the green jacket.

Garcia, a runner-up to Tiger Woods as a teen at the 1999 PGA Championship, has a best effort of fourth at Augusta and his relationship with the layout he called “too tricky” in 2009 has been rocky at best.

“It has definitely improved. There’s no doubt about that. Nothing wrong with Augusta,” Garcia said. “The main thing that has improved is the way I’m looking at it. It’s the kind of place that if you are trying to fight against it, it’s going to beat you down.

“You’ve just got to roll with it and realise that sometimes you’re going to get good breaks and sometimes you’re going to get not so good breaks. But at the end of the day, that’s part of the game.” – AFP