Spain’s Sergio Garcia captured his first major title on Sunday after 73 failed attempts, making a birdie on the first playoff hole to defeat Justin Rose and win the Masters.
Garcia took his emotional, long-sought triumph over England’s Rose, last year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics champion and the 2013 US Open winner, after they finished deadlocked on nine-under 279 after 72 holes at Augusta National.
“Whew, it has been such a long time coming,” Garcia said.
Photo: Reuters
“I felt a calmness I never felt on a major Sunday,” he said.
The 37-year-old Spaniard took the greatest triumph of his career on what would have been the 60th birthday of his idol, two-time Masters champion and three-time The Open winner Seve Ballesteros, who died of brain cancer in 2011 at age 54.
“It’s amazing,” Garcia said. “To do it on his 60th birthday, it’s something amazing.”
Last-group playing partners and friends, Garcia and Rose were level for the lead at the start of what became a tension-packed, thrilling final round.
“It was a great battle with Sergio all day,” Rose said. “If I had to lose to anybody, it would be to Sergio. He deserves it as much as anyone out here. He has had his fair share of heartbreak. I played well. He made a great comeback.”
Only three players had more major starts without a victory than Garcia before he donned the green jacket after nearly two decades of major futility.
Garcia led by three strokes after five holes, fell two behind after 11, then roared back to force the playoff and sank a 15-foot birdie putt to claim victory.
“Even after making a couple of bogeys I was very positive. I still believed,” Garcia said. “There were a lot of holes I could get to and I stayed positive.”
Rose’s playoff tee shot soared deep into trees right of the fairway, but bounced out onto pine straw, while Garcia found the fairway.
Rose could only punch out onto the fairway and scrambled to make a bogey, while Garcia put his approach 15 feet from the hole and, needing only two putts to win, rolled in a birdie.
Garcia squatted and shook with excitement, rose and screamed with joy, then hugged good pal Rose before walking around the green to revel in the moment, pumping his fist in delight.
“We were cheering each other,” Garcia said. “We wanted to beat the other guy, not the other guy to lose.”
Garcia said he had lost hope of ever winning at Augusta, but “through the years I learned to accept what Augusta gives and takes, and that’s why I’m here.”
South African Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters winner, was third on 282, with Matt Kuchar of the US and Belgian Thomas Pieters sharing fourth on 283.
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