CAN SERGIO BE EUROPE’S HEARTBEAT AGAIN?
HE’S BEEN A SHADOW OF HIMSELF IN 2018, SO...
‘Golf is such a lonely game, so it’s nice to have a friend next to you, cheering for you’
The heartbeat of the team, Rory McIlroy called him, and when Sergio Garcia reviewed what made the Ryder Cup special, it was clear why he revels in this competition so much. he is lonely.
he admitted as much at Le Golf National yesterday. ‘Golf is such a lonely game throughout the whole year,’ said Garcia. ‘Sometimes it is nice to have a friend next to you cheering for you — and not just one, but 10 more doing the same.
‘It definitely feels like it helps me. I like to have someone around. It’s a reason I’ve always enjoyed foursomes and fourballs, to have someone who you can put your arm around and cheer you on. It’s a bit of both. I get inspired and hopefully I inspire them, make them feel more comfortable, make them enjoy it a little more.
‘It’s probably one of the reasons I’ve been fairly successful with so many different partnerships in Ryder Cups. I’m probably close to being the Ryder Cup player with the most partnerships and I’ve been able to do well with pretty much all of them.’
Sports people are not typically the best with statistics but the numbers back up Garcia. Of the top eight european Ryder Cup partnerships, the 38-year- old is involved in two and in three of the top 15. In all, he has had 10 partners and, unless paired with Paul Casey or Rory McIlroy, that number is set to rise this week.
Of the 10, Garcia has a winning record with five, halves with two, and losses overall with three. In those losing records, however, are one-off pairings with Miguel Angel Jimenez and Nicolas Colsaerts. Indeed, his two losses with Martin Kaymer are the most he has had with any one partner — seven reverses in 29 pairs matches.
It is not the same for Garcia on his own. eight singles matches, three wins, four defeats. Undoubtedly, Garcia takes most from the Ryder Cup as a team golfer, hence captain Thomas Bjorn’s decision to include him, despite recent struggles on the circuit. Garcia has missed the cut in all four majors this year and finished top 10 in only four events.
he was 24th in european Tour points, 13th in World Tour points, and his claim to be here is arguably the flimsiest of any in the european team. Yet, one feels he would be first pick for many of his contemporaries. All bought enthusiastically into the idea their group would be weaker, indeed could not be the same, without Garcia, no matter his issues.
It is plain that Bjorn’s decision to include him as one of his captain’s selections was not seen as controversial in the team room. Laymen may feel that form trumps all. europe’s golfers just want the counsel and enthusiasm of the player Jon Rahm spoke of as the glue holding the unit together.
Rahm, a fellow Spaniard even if he sounds as if he should be on the opposing team, may be Garcia’s newest Ryder Cup partner at some time over the first two days. It seems whoever gets that nod will be considered a lucky guy.
‘he loves the event,’ Rahm said. ‘he knows what it is like, he knows how well he performs and he acts in a great way. his energy is so positive — it’s very contagious. It’s so much fun to be around a person like him because he gets everybody energetic, as he is. he brings everybody together.
‘he’s a great golfer, but also a special man and that’s one of the main reasons he’s here. Look, it’s always been a dream of mine to share the stage with Sergio.
‘he’s been in my shoes. I’m 23, I’m the youngest on our team by a couple of years, but he played the Ryder Cup when he was a teenager, so he was even younger than I was. he understands me more than anybody else.
‘We’re Spanish, we’re both fiery players. Whether we play together or not, he’s going to be able to
help me more than anybody in the world.’
‘Everyone loves Sergio,’ added McIlroy. ‘He’s been the heartbeat of our team, a constant, and when I think of our Ryder Cup successes, it’s about continuity and bringing the same mind-set each year.
‘He’s great, he’s fun-loving and he never lets the environment get too serious. That’s one of the big things about Europe over the years — we leave our egos at the door. The more you can keep that atmosphere in the team room the better, and Sergio is great at it and great at just bringing the dynamic to everyone else.’
Of course, this being the Ryder Cup, the brilliance or otherwise of Bjorn’s picks will be viewed through the lens of Sunday’s scoreboard. If Garcia has been unable to shake off his mediocre 2018, and Europe have lost, no amount of bounciness in the team room will compensate.
The case for experience will rest, defeated, and it will always be presumed Europe would have fared better had the captain looked to form. Yet team golf has a way of revitalising Garcia in a way a lonely march around 18 holes cannot.
This is the first Ryder Cup he will play as a major winner, remember. The rest, all those wins, all those European dream teams, have been achieved while fighting a series of problems, from the gripping yips to major meltdowns. There is something about this tournament that brings the best from him. Maybe he just likes company.