Each year, in the first part of April, my father and I sit down together and watch the final round of the Gold Tournament, The Masters. With this being my first year away from home in college, I surprised my dad by flying back home to watch it with him.
And what a nail biter it was! Like any major tournament, the tides can turn on a dime and turn they did. For when a golfer lets the game get to his head, it can be detrimental to the outcome. For Sergio Garcia, this has been a true for him in the past years. Sergio was considered the best player in golf to have never won a major, due in part to the fact that each year, the game goes to his head and he looses concentration on the back nine.
This year, a few players started the day in contention. Golfers Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Speith, and Sergio Garcia all began the day in good standing, lingering around five under par. Soon enough, the difficulty of the course got the best of Speith and Fowler and they fell off the leader board. A few players such as Charl Schwartzel made some surges forward and Matt Kucher made a spectacular hold-in-one put on the 16th hole, bringing him into contention and in the clubhouse at -5.
However none of these golfers could contend with the massive skill of Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia. The tension was palpable on the course at the two entered the back nine and Garcia’s game began to waver. After hitting it into the ball into the brush, Garcia was forced to take a stroke penalty and take the ball drop. Unlike in previous years, he was able to recover and get the ball 6 feet away from the hole, keeping him in rage of Rose for par. Garcia faced some set backs but by the last four holes, everyone’s attention was turned toward Garcia and Rose. Justin Rose, a British Golfer looking for his second major win against Sergio Garcia, a Spaniard, who was looking for his first ever major win. Both golfers did not crack under the pressure until the 18th hole, the last hole of the tournament and the biggest shots of their life, and both golfers miss their birdie puts and remain at par.
Now the two were going in to play-offs at 9 under par! Clearly both golfers are nervous as they make their way back to tee off and play sudden death at the 18th hole once more. Both hit it well onto the fairway and Garcia hits it closer on the green while Rose’s put is a long one. Both end up putting for Birdie. The pressure is all on Rose now because he has to make the shot in one attempt, with a very long put, he comes up short. This leaves Garcia with two attempts to put in the hole. And he does it!
(Justin Rose congratulates Sergio Garcia after his win)
Sergio Garcia finally wins a tournament and on the birthday of another Spaniard golfer Severiano “Seve” Ballesteros, who was the last Spanish golfer to win the Masters and Garcia’s idol growing up. It is an exciting win for Garcia and for Spain!