Sergio Garcia wins the Masters, ends drought at the majors

Rose’s wild tee shot as they replayed the 18th offered another Garcia opportunity and this time, with two putts from ten feet for the Green Jacket, he needed only one.

Rose, who has finished tied second, 10th and second in his last three Masters, was referring to 57-year-old American Fred Couples, victor of the Green Jacket in 1992, who has had six top-20 finishes in his last seven appearances.

Garcia achieved his long-sought triumph over England’s Justin Rose, the 2016 Rio Olympic champion and 2013 US Open victor, after they finished tied on nine-under par 279 after 72 holes at Augusta National.

They hadn’t seen Garcia play so well in his practice round Tuesday with his Spanish pal, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, or how soundly he slept Saturday night, or how calm he felt on the drive to the course Sunday morning. Here are the biggest moments that everybody will be talking about Monday.

The turning point came at the par-five 13th.

Positive, happy and calm were not attributes one would normally have used to describe the 37-year-old Garcia on the golf course prior to this week.

And while Garcia possessed the talent to put himself in the mix at golf’s premier events – as his 22 top-10 finishes coming into this week attests – his mental toughness was questioned. He was followed by Garcia, who despite receiving more cheers than Rose, made no effort to acknowledge the fans and did nothing but write his score down and stay as close to the middle of the pathway as possible. “Ser-gee-oh!” from the gallery.

Said Garcia: “We both wanted to beat the other guy, not have him lose it”. “Got me more confident”.

Yet while both Ballesteros and his great friend Jose Maria Olazabal were able to claim two Masters titles apiece during their illustrious careers at the highest level, the tournament had not been kind to the man who succeeded that duo as Spain’s premier player. If Garcia went on to win, that would be the first eagle at 15 struck by the victor in the final round since fellow Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal did it in 1994.

It was hard not to get emotional for Garcia when he trickled in a birdie putt on the first playoff hole, then dropped to his knees and pounded his fist against the green. He battled to the end. “He deserves it”, Rose said. “He’s had his share of heartbreak”. But three birdies and an eagle on the final seven holes had him momentarily as the leader in the clubhouse.

Tied going to the back nine, Garcia immediately fell two shots behind with wild shots into the pine straw bed under the trees.

But a key to the match was what happened over the next 10 minutes: Garcia punched his third shot down in front of the green, then coldly got up and down for par, the save of his life. He had to take a penalty shot to get out and hit his third shot 89 yards short of the green. Ballesteros was Garcia’s childhood golfing hero, and Garcia had to answer questions all week about what it might mean to win the tournament on Ballesteros’ birthday. He finished second four times. This was his third time playing in the final group.

Garcia seemed so certain that fate had it in for him that like Pigpen from the cartoon strip “Peanuts”, he didn’t dare look up.

Garcia’s fourth shot hit inches from the cup and spun eight feet away. Despite finishing with a flurry of birdies in his last 4 holes this was too little too late from Spieth as he finished on 1 under par for the tournament – 8 shots back from Garcia and Rose.

Rose led by two after 11 holes. But one you know with Garcia is that he is never going to do things the easy way.