Sergio Garcia Wins First Ever Major in Dramatic Fashion

After years of being considered one of the best players to never win a major championship, Sergio Garcia finally broke away from that stigma by winning the Green Jacket this weekend at Augusta.  And it was not an easy win for the Spaniard.

After entering the final round on Sunday with a share of the lead with Justin Rose, Garcia quickly started his round by jumping to a two shot advantage over the field, only to have a rough start on the back nine that put him behind Rose.  Garcia never quavered, however, and started to heat up again with an eagle on the 15th hole.

After more of a back and forth through the final three holes, Rose and Garcia ended up missing birdie putts on the 18th and were sent back to the tee for a playoff.

No Title

No Description

It was an emotional start to the playoff, with both players missing key opportunities key putts to win the Masters.  Unfortunately for Rose, he hit his first tee shot into the pine straw, forcing him to punch out and lose a stroke to Garcia.  After sticking his wedge shot within a few feet of the pin for the second time, Garcia was able to roll in a birdie putt to win his first major.

This was a huge moment for Garcia because he had not won a major championship in 73 starts.  In fact, it was only a few years ago when Sergio was quoted as saying that he didn’t believe he would ever have the ability to win a major championship.  Further, he became only the third Spanish-born golfer to win the green jacket, following in the footsteps of Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal, who each claimed two Masters titles.

Even more special for Sergio had to be the fact that it was the legendary Ballesteros’ birthday on Sunday.  Winning the Masters had to be the best tribute that Garcia could have ever given him.

Garcia also became the first player to win the Masters with an eagle in his final round since Olazabal, giving his other Spanish idol a nice shout out.

Now that Garcia has finally lived up to the potential that experts believed he had back in 1999, it will be interesting to see if Sergio can carry that momentum to any more major championships.

Cover Image via YouTube