Opinion & Analysis
Sergio is the difference between good and great
They say that pressure can make diamonds, but it can also burst pipes.
It seemed for a moment that Sergio Garcia was finally going to shine by besting Tiger Woods head to head for a meaningful title. In the end, Woods added another jewel to his already crowded crown and Garcia needed a good plumber.
On No. 17 at Sawgrass on Sunday, Garcia’s round dissolved like a couple of Alka-Seltzer, only this case the “plop, plop, fizz, fizz” started a headache instead of relieving one. Garcia’s mind-bending quadruple-bogey, double-bogey finish at The Players Championship last weekend will certainly be remembered as long as he plays golf. The question now is whether it will define his career.
While his talent has never been questioned, Sergio has been circling true greatness like a guy trying to get in a nightclub when he knows his name isn’t on the invite list. When he burst on the scene at the 1999 PGA Championship, he seemed to have the perfect combination of ability and a joyful spirit of competition to be a foil for Woods, who was already casting a Darth Vader-like shadow over the game.
And Garcia has had a noteworthy career, with wins all over the world, a distinguished match play record and more money than he can count. But it still seems that Garcia’s talent is a check that never really got cashed. He has only eight PGA Tour wins, and aside from the The Players Championship in 2008 there isn’t a significant win on his record that doesn’t have “Cup” in the name.
But this loss is different than the others, because Sergio is no longer a child prodigy. Sergio is 33, the time when most golfers should be in the prime of their careers, but he seems older. The joy we saw from a younger Sergio seems to have been replaced by a surliness and a tendency to blame the gods for his missteps and shortcomings.
Garcia is all about “almost” and “what if,” and the list continues to grow: The 2007 British Open where he lipped out too many putts. The 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills where he rinsed a ball on the 70th hole to take himself out of contention. And now this.
Each time Garcia has been knocked down, he bounced back, but each time just a little lower. There is psychic scar tissue that will restrict his ability to perform in similar situations in the future. The petty fight that Garcia picked with Woods over a crowd disturbance seemed more like Garcia trying to wave a little smelling salts under his own nose rather than a legitimate complaint. But it also was Garcia reaffirming his perpetual victimhood, something that the greats of the game have never had any time for.
Going forward, Garcia will not only have to fight his inner demons. There will be some very external, very vocal fans ready to chide and berate the one thing that American fans hate most, a whiner.
Colin Montgomerie was just elected to the Hall of Fame, but Monty went O-for-America, never managing to win on the PGA Tour once in the face of the constant teasing from the normally restrained PGA Tour galleries. Garcia has now put himself in the role of being the King of All Mopes. It proved to be too much for Monty; it will likely prove to be too much for Garcia to win a major championship on American soil.
Tiger Woods once said that he loves performing under pressure, despite the fact that it “feels like a lion tearing at my heart.” That Woods seeks the lion and defeats it time after time is a testament to where he belongs in the golf pantheon.
Garcia has also seen the lion, and in those instances when he had a team with him he has known success. But when he has to face the beast alone he seems to seek a way out more than a way to win.
It doesn’t make him a bad guy; in fact it makes him like the rest of us. But you know what, we need Sergio Garcia. He is a measuring stick, a point of perspective that tells us the difference between good and great.
This past Monday, I played in the U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Rock Creek Country Club in Portland, Oregon. A full tee sheet from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., the top 11 scores would make it to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying.
I teed off at 10:48 a.m.. With the 7:30 am tee time, you can get a feel for the leaders’ pace, and they were off and running on the challenging setup at Rock Creek.
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Getting to the highlight of the round on the par five 17th, a drive up the left side and 212 yards left to the front hole location. I took out a 5-iron with plans of middle of the green. The ball ended up 8 feet left of the hole, pin high. A slight downhill putt dropped in for an eagle 3 on the 17th. With the cut line looking to be anywhere from -2 to even par. This was the boost I had been waiting for all day.
With making par from the trees on 18, it was time to wait for a potential playoff with a posted score of one under par 71.
Three hours later, it was playoff time. 8 players for 6 spots. I made par on the playoff hole, which was good enough to advance to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying in July. USGA qualifiers sure deliver on all of the emotions in golf!
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Eric VG
Jun 22, 2013 at 4:20 pm
The fact that Sergio is still receiving these criticisms indicate that he’s never been in the “Pantheon,” so to speak.
David Duval said about Colin Montgomerie (who also has a reputation for whining) that a lot of the disdain from the crowd was unwarranted, but that Colin also could have done more to stop it.
Maybe this is just me, but even after all of his troubles, I’d still take Tiger over Sergio any day. Tiger has the majors, but athletes from Spain have a tendency to be a little racist, some more subtle than others. But after the controversy, I can’t give Sergio the benefit of the doubt anymore.
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Kjervin
May 18, 2013 at 4:14 pm
while I was watching the Players, before he missed the green at 17, I was not that surprised that he hit the same shot again. If he felt he made a bad swing, or knew what he felt went wrong, he was probably better to hit the EXACT SAME shot again than to shoot a different one, even if it was shorter distance if it was at another angle. I was a bit surprised that he did not club up, since he was short, but I then thought, “maybe he thought he just mishit it, and it was the right shot.”
I think if he made it the second time, people would have said it was a gutsy play, but since he did not know he would miss again (presumably) it would be just as gutsy even though he went into the drink for the second time.
After that, 18 didn’t matter, it was just for money, and Sergio has plenty of that.
I think it was a gutsy play, and not even a stupid play. He had just hit that shot a minute ago. He was likely confident that he could hit it the second time. He congratulated his playing partner for a great shot on 17, even though his was not that successful, which showed sportsmanship and maturity.
I think Serio will be in contention on many future sundays in big tournaments and Majors. Sooner or later, like Phil, he will pick off a few.
Sludd
May 18, 2013 at 2:25 pm
I’m not so sure about “…the constant teasing from the normally restrained PGA Tour galleries” in relation to Monty. Golwrx is far too civilised an environment to quote some of what Monty had to endure from the galleries of the PGS tour.
“Mashed potato”, “get in the hole” (on 565 yard par 5 holes) “your the man”, random shouts that basically mean “please look at me, I’m important” do not strike me as restrained. Go to a football match instead please.
Another example would be Justin Rose at Medinah last year – restrained (never mind courteous and respectful) I think not!!
As I live in the UK I have no doubt I am in the minority in holding these views.
Regarding Sergio – attitude is 9/10’s of golfing achievement.
viper
May 16, 2013 at 2:11 pm
I like to be Sergio.
DaphneWB
May 16, 2013 at 10:04 am
PGA Tour 2nd lowest scoring avg behind Woods so far in 2013, ranked 13th OWGR from 85th 2 years ago…Sergio has come back very nicely
If only I could “fail” like Sergio
jOHN
May 15, 2013 at 10:54 pm
On the matter of Garcia, actually I am proud of him. That shot, had it worked
would have been heard around the world. I say, way to go Senor Garcia you were
a couple of yards of being a Tiger slayer.
Mike
May 15, 2013 at 8:36 pm
Lets not forget how week woods plays in team events because he’s never been a team player and won’t be ever! He truly only loves himself. Sergio has always been a team player and always will. Has the U.S. ever
won a Ryder Cup with woods? and if the team did it must have been a fluke. Spent too much tine inside the ropes to accept these one sided opinions! Some one has to speak the truth God knows you won’t get it from the pga tim the money man finchem!
Curt
May 15, 2013 at 9:53 am
Great article! Sergio has definitely become sour grapes after such a promising career in the beginning, only to turn into a good career, at best. Some may define it as mediocre, at best………………
Guy1
May 15, 2013 at 9:37 am
Was Woods really “already casting a Darth Vader-like shadow over the game” in 1999? I think that is a bit much…
He was the golden child well into the 2000s.
Ray
May 15, 2013 at 9:09 am
Well done, Michael. Though I’d love to see Sergio get a major someday, he surely has some mental scar tissue from this one.
David
May 15, 2013 at 8:57 am
As the old saying goes ” you need to pick your battles” I also think you should pick the time to start one as well. Sergio was close to getting from behind the cry baby stigma that has followed him and now he has stumbled again. I am not partial to any of these guys but could someone really think Tiger did that intentionally I don’t think so.
Resili
May 15, 2013 at 8:38 am
Excellent article, congratulations.
I am from Spain and always wanted him to win but I love this game and have been frustrated many times just by watching him dump all his talent with the wrong attitude.
Some people say that he should have left the comfortable position under his fathers’ wing and hired a coach insensitive to his complains, others say that a psychologist (although he says he does not believe in them) was needed to help him to focus…
I’m starting to believe that he is a lost case specially when I listen to his comments about Tiger after third round… Can you imagine Ernie Els (for example) saying what Sergio said?
I completely agree that he is one of the best (if not the one) examples of the difference between the good and the great in this game
Michael
May 15, 2013 at 4:11 am
A good article.
But do we really need the ubiquitous “going forward” ?
Minh
May 14, 2013 at 12:07 pm
Good article and spot on. Sergio’s “woe is me attitude” makes it difficult for me to ever root for him. In his defense, it is tough to be the “fun loving” kid we saw challenge Tiger in 1999 and still have the killer instinct.
On a side note, I think you meant “mind-bending” not “mend-bending”. And when you spoke of Colin, you stated “he” and I think “his” would have been correct. Grammar check is a must.
Bert B
May 15, 2013 at 12:59 pm
Thank you teacher.