GARCIA BACK AFTER MAGICAL MONTH
OVER the past month Sergio Garcia and his green jacket have been on quite a journey. From the top of the Empire State Building to his home club in the foothills of Valencia. From the peaks of the Swiss Alps to the stately confines of Ashford Castle in deepest Ireland. But there was one place he wore it that created a memory so treasured it matched winning the jacket itself on that memorable final day at the Masters last month. The Bernabeu, when the players of Real Madrid and Barcelona took a back seat for a moment and led the applause as Garcia was allowed the singular honour of a ceremonial kick-off. A lifelong Real fan and a decent player in his own right, the 37-year-old said: ‘I tell you, I’ve been lucky enough to have 20,000 people chanting my name at majors and the Ryder Cup,’ he began. ‘But everyone shouting my name at a
Clasico taking place in what I regard as the greatest sports stadium of all? I’m not sure I really have the words to describe how that felt but it will certainly stay with me for the rest of my life.’ Following his dreamy month, it’s back to the day job at the eagerly anticipated Players Championship at Sawgrass. On the practice ground, Garcia has been overwhelmed by the reaction of his fellow competitors. ‘When you hear players like Rory McIlroy saying they were crying when I won, it almost feels like they wanted me to win it more than I did myself,’ he said, smiling. ‘It shows I have the respect of my fellow competitors, that they like me, and there are not many better feelings than that.’ Garcia is a former winner and a serial contender here and goes out at 1.41pm local time today, followed by compatriot Jon Rahm and Masters runner-up Justin Rose. Then come the world Nos 1 and 2, Dustin Johnson and McIlroy. Among the 10-strong English contingent is Ian Poulter, who will have a new caddie for the first time in 11 years. James Walton replaced former incumbent Terry Mundy, now Poulter’s road manager after succumbing to a chronic back problem.