Sergio García Fernández (born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish
professional golfer who plays on both the United States
PGA Tour and the
European Tour. He has spent much of his career in the top 10 of the
Official World Golf Rankings (over 300 weeks between 2000 and 2009). He reached a career high ranking of two after winning the
HSBC Champions tournament in November 2008.
Career outline
Junior and amateur golf
García began playing golf at the age of three and was taught by his father, Victor, who is a club professional. He was a star player as a junior, winning his club championship at age 12. Four years later, he set a record as the youngest player to make the cut at a European Tour event, the 1995 Turespaña Open Mediterranea. This record was broken by amateur
Jason Hak in November 2008 at the
UBS Hong Kong Open, beating García's record by 107 days. Also in 1995, García became the youngest player to win the
European Amateur. He followed that with a win in the
Boys Amateur Championship in 1997. He won a professional tournament, the 1997 Catalonian Open, on the European Challenge Tour, as an amateur. In 1998 he won
The Amateur Championship, and reached the semifinals of the
U.S. Amateur.
Early professional years
García turned professional in 1999 after shooting the lowest amateur score in the 1999
Masters Tournament. His first title on the
European Tour came in his sixth start as a professional, in July 1999 at the
Irish Open. He first achieved worldwide prominence with a duel against
Tiger Woods in the 1999
PGA Championship, where he eventually finished second. Late in the final round, García hit his most famous shot: with his ball up against a tree trunk in the right rough on the 16th hole, and the green hidden from view, he swung hard with his eyes shut and hit a low curving fade that ran up onto the green. As the shot traveled, he sprinted madly into the fairway and then scissor-kick jumped to see the result. Shortly afterwards he became the youngest player ever to compete in the
Ryder Cup.
When García first turned professional, he had an unorthodox swing with a loop and large lag, and this method drew comparisons to the legendary Ben Hogan, one of the best players of all time. But during the 2003 season, he worked towards making his swing more conventional, but has largely kept his original method. In his early years, he repeatedly gripped, released, and regripped his hands on the club handle before finally taking a shot. This "waggle" habit created a stir, especially at the 2002 U.S. Open when some spectators shouted out, "Hit the ball, Sergio!", and some people audibly counted the number of regrips into the twenties. Since then he has eliminated the habit. Responding to criticism of his swing, he said, "My swing works for me, so why should I change it? I prefer to have a natural swing and play well rather than a perfect swing and not be able to play good."
PGA Tour titles
García won his first PGA Tour tournament at age 21 at the 2001 MasterCard Colonial in
Fort Worth, Texas and then won again at the
Buick Classic the same year. He was the youngest Tour winner since Woods in 1996 at age 20. In 2002, he won the Mercedes Championships, and in 2004, he won the
EDS Byron Nelson Championship and the Buick Classic for the second time. His sixth PGA Tour victory came at the 2005
Booz Allen Classic. He also plays a limited schedule on the European Tour, where he has won nine times. In 2002, during a practice round, García made an
albatross (double eagle) on the par-5 second hole at the Masters, one of the few players to have ever done so. On the 575-yard hole at the
Augusta National Golf Club, he holed a 253-yard 2-iron following a 325-yard drive.
Ryder Cup star
García was a member of the European
Ryder Cup team in 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008 and holds an impressive career record at the Ryder Cup of 14–6–4. As three of his appearances have resulted in overall victories, his input in the team has proved invaluable. He had risen into the top five of the
Official World Golf Rankings, but after an inconsistent 2006 season, he dropped out of the top 10.
In the 2006 Ryder Cup, at the K Club in Ireland, García won both his fourball and foursome matches (with José María Olazábal and Luke Donald, respectively) on day one, beating David Toms and Brett Wetterich in the fourballs and Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk in the foursomes. On day two, he paired up with Olazábal again, who won both their matches against Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco in both the foursomes and fourballs. Going into the final day in the singles, García was heavily tipped to be the first person to win all their matches in one Ryder Cup; however, Stewart Cink beat him 4 and 3. Europe won the cup again, with 18½ points to the United States' 9½ points.
Near-misses at majors
Earlier in 2007, García had encountered criticism when he spit in the cup during the
WGC-CA Championship after three-putting. After missing the cut of the first two major championships in 2007, García found success at
The Open Championship -– his favorite of the four majors -– at
Carnoustie Golf Links. He held the lead after each one of the first three rounds and carried a three-shot lead over
Steve Stricker and a six-shot lead over the rest of the field into the start of the fourth day. At an early stage of the last round, he had extended the lead to four shots, but bogeys at the 5th, 7th, and 8th holes brought him back to the field. On the final challenging hole, he needed a par to win, but failed to get up and down from the greenside bunker. The last putt on the 18th hole on Sunday, from about eight feet, would have given him his first professional major. He missed it by a fraction and faced a playoff with
Pádraig Harrington that he eventually lost by one stroke. In his post-round news conference, García seemed to suggest that bad breaks had cost him the championship. During the playoff, on the long par-3 16th hole, his tee shot hit the flagstick but then bounced 20 feet from the pin, off the green, and García could not convert for birdie. "It's not the first time, unfortunately," he stated. "I don't know... I'm playing against a lot of guys out there, more than the field." In the 2007
PGA Championship, he was disqualified after signing an incorrect scorecard after the third round.
Wins The Players Championship
On 11 May 2008, García won
The Players Championship on the PGA Tour in a playoff against
Paul Goydos. On the first playoff hole, the 17th, Goydos hit a pitching wedge that ballooned and fell inches short of the green and into the water, while García played a sand wedge to within four feet of the hole. Goydos made double bogey while García made par for the win.
More major frustration
At the
2008 PGA Championship, played over the South Course of
Oakland Hills Country Club, he narrowly missed out winning his first professional major championship yet again. Like at the 2007 Open Championship,
Pádraig Harrington was able to erase a García lead on the back nine to take the title. García would finish two strokes back for his second runner-up finish at the
PGA Championship. His most serious mistake during the final round was misjudging his second shot on the 16th, playing into a strong wind, which found the water in front of the par-4 hole's green, costing him sole ownership of the lead. Regarding another near-miss in a major championship, García stated, "I felt like I responded well, and he was obviously very good on the back nine, and things just happened his way."
Career high in rankings
On 26 October 2008, he won his first European Tour title in over three years, at the first playing of the
Castelló Masters Costa Azahar at his home course, the
Club de Campo del Mediterráneo in Castellón, Spain. With this win, he rose to a career high of third in the
Official World Golf Rankings. He dedicated the victory to compatriot
Seve Ballesteros, who was recovering from multiple operations on a
brain tumor. He won the 2008
HSBC Champions, the opening event on the 2009 European Tour season on 9 November 2008 in a playoff over
Oliver Wilson. This win notched him up to a career high second in the
Official World Golf Rankings, replacing
Phil Mickelson in that spot, who had ironically won the
HSBC Champions in 2007. García earned more money than any other golfer in 2008, earning $6,979,959 in 26 events.
Slump, competitive break
After his success in 2008, García had a very disappointing season in 2009, rarely contending and finished ranked 74th on the PGA Tour money list. He had more success on the
European Tour where he finished tenth in the inaugural
Race to Dubai. His slump continued into 2010, and after the USA
PGA Championship García announced he was taking a break from golf and would miss the
2010 Ryder Cup. He also dropped out of the top 50 of the
Official World Golf Rankings. Struggles with the putter were the primary cause of his slump, since his ballstriking remained among the best in the world. On the 29 August 2010, European
Ryder Cup captain
Colin Montgomerie announced that García would be his fourth vice captain for the
2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.
Return to form
García returned to competitive play late in 2010 with a new putting grip, the so-called 'paintbrush' or 'saw' grip, and this produced better results for him on the greens. After 36 holes, he was near the lead in both at the 2011 Transitions Championship and the 2011 Byron Nelson Championship, but both times faded on the weekend to fall out of contention.
García had to withdraw from qualifying for the 2011 British Open because of an infected finger. He had originally planned against qualifying for the 2011 U.S. Open, where he was outside the top-50 in the OWGR and was not guaranteed automatic entry. He eventually earned a spot in the U.S. Open after being one of the top four at a qualifying tournament near Memphis. It extended his streak of playing in 48 consecutive majors, dating back to 1999. García played well in all four rounds of the U.S. Open, ending in a tie for seventh place at five-under par 279. Garcia finished tied for ninth place in The 2011 Open Championship at Royal St George's. This was his 17th career top-10 finish in a major.
In late June 2011, García almost broke his winless streak dating back to 2008, when he lost at the fifth sudden-death playoff hole to fellow Spaniard Pablo Larrazábal at the BMW International Open. García led the tournament after the 11th hole of the final round with a stunning stretch of holes, which saw him produce three birdies and two eagles in six holes, from holes six to eleven. However his charge to the finish was derailed by four bogeys in five holes, leaving him needing a birdie at the last to make the playoff. In the playoff, both players made consecutive birdies at the first two extra holes (both par 5s) before parring holes three and four (both par 3s). At the fifth extra hole, Garcia had a 30-foot eagle putt for the victory, but ran the effort four feet past the hole. The resulting putt lipped out, allowing Larrazábal to hole a two-foot birdie putt for the victory. Despite this, García ensured qualification for the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St George's with his runner-up finish, through the current form money list exemption. This additionally means that Garcia will run his streak of consecutive majors to 49, which is the longest currently-active streak. García went on to finish tied for 9th place at the Open Championship, his best finish for four years.
Personal life
A bachelor, he drives a
Ferrari 360 Modena and a
Jaguar XJR. One of his most notable ex-girlfriends is former world number-one
tennis player
Martina Hingis, who helped him cope with the emotional side of the game. He has also had an on-and-off relationship with
Greg Norman's daughter, Morgan-Leigh Norman, a graduate of
Boston College; however, Garcia has confirmed the couple have now separated. However, García and Greg Norman are designing a new golf course in
San Antonio.
Additionally, he keeps a close friendship with the Uruguayan football player Diego Forlán. They first met in Castelló when the latter was playing for the nearby La Liga club Villarreal. More recently, he has developed a close rapport with young Colombian star golfer Camilo Villegas, with the two often dining together at night and ribbing one another . Also, Garcia has a close friendship with world tennis star Rafael Nadal.
Golf equipment
García has an endorsement deal with
TaylorMade-adidas Golf, and uses all TaylorMade equipment, and adidas shoes and clothing. His equipment setup is as follows:
Driver: TaylorMade r11 9.5°, Mitsubishi Diamana X-flex shaft
Fairway Woods: TaylorMade Burner Superfast 2.0 TP 13.5° (3-wood), and TaylorMade R7 TP 17.5° (5-wood), both with Mitsubishi Diamana 103 X-flex shafts
Irons: TaylorMade Tour Preferred Muscle Back Irons (4-PW), Royal Precision Rifle Project X 6.5 shafts
Wedges: TaylorMade rac z TP 52°, 58°, 62°
Putter: TaylorMade Rossa Ghost mallet, center-shafted
Ball: TaylorMade Penta TP
Rangefinder: Bushnell Slope Edition (Sponsored by Bushnell)
There is also unofficial video documentation of a press conference where Snell speaks on the new TP balls while García demonstrates some shots.
Professional wins (20)
PGA Tour wins (7)
PGA Tour playoff record (4–5)
European Tour wins (8)
European Tour playoff record (2–4)
Other wins (5)
1997 Catalonian Open Championship (Spain – not a European Tour event)
2001 Nedbank Golf Challenge (South Africa – unofficial event)
2002 Kolon Cup Korean Open (Asian Tour)
2003 Nedbank Golf Challenge (South Africa – unofficial event)
2010 Gary Player Invitational (with John Cook)
Results in major championships
{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: #aaa solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;"
|- style="background:#eee;"
!align="left"|Tournament !! 1996 !! 1997 !! 1998 !! 1999
|-
|
The Masters
| style="text-align:center;"|DNP
| style="text-align:center;"|DNP
| style="text-align:center;"|DNP
| style="text-align:center;"|T38
LA
|-
|
U.S. Open
| style="text-align:center;"|DNP
| style="text-align:center;"|DNP
| style="text-align:center;"|DNP
| style="text-align:center;"|DNP
|-
|
The Open Championship
| style="text-align:center;"|CUT
| style="text-align:center;"|DNP
| style="text-align:center;"|T29
| style="text-align:center;"|CUT
|-
|
PGA Championship
| style="text-align:center;"|DNP
| style="text-align:center;"|DNP
| style="text-align:center;"|DNP
| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|2
|}
{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: #aaa solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;"
|- style="background:#eee;"
!align="left"|Tournament !! 2000 !! 2001 !! 2002 !! 2003 !! 2004 !! 2005 !! 2006 !! 2007 !! 2008 !! 2009
|-
|
The Masters
| style="text-align:center;"|T40
| style="text-align:center;"|CUT
| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|8
| style="text-align:center;"|T28
| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|T4
| style="text-align:center;"|CUT
| style="text-align:center;"|46
| style="text-align:center;"|CUT
| style="text-align:center;"|CUT
| style="text-align:center;"|T38
|-
|
U.S. Open
| style="text-align:center;"|T46
| style="text-align:center;"|T12
| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|4
| style="text-align:center;"|T35
| style="text-align:center;"|T20
| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|T3
| style="text-align:center;"|CUT
| style="text-align:center;"|CUT
| style="text-align:center;"|T18
| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|T10
|-
|
The Open Championship
| style="text-align:center;"|T36
| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|T9
| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|T8
| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|T10
| style="text-align:center;"|CUT
| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|T5
| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|T5
| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|2
| style="text-align:center;"|T51
| style="text-align:center;"|T38
|-
|
PGA Championship
| style="text-align:center;"|T34
| style="text-align:center;"|CUT
| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|T10
| style="text-align:center;"|CUT
| style="text-align:center;"|CUT
| style="text-align:center;"|T23
| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|T3
| style="text-align:center;"|DQ
| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|T2
| style="text-align:center;"|CUT
|}
{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: #aaa solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;"
|- style="background:#eee;"
!align="left"|Tournament !! 2010 !! 2011
|-
|
The Masters
| style="text-align:center;"|T45
| style="text-align:center;"|T35
|-
|
U.S. Open
| style="text-align:center;"|T22
| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|T7
|-
|
The Open Championship
| style="text-align:center;"|T14
| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|T9
|-
|
PGA Championship
| style="text-align:center;"|CUT
| style="text-align:center;"|T12
|}
LA = Low Amateur
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half way cut
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Yellow background for top-10.
Results in World Golf Championship events
!Tournament!!1999!!2000!!2001!!2002!!2003!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008
|
align="left" |
DNP
|
|
DNP
|
|
R64
|
R64
|
|
DNP
|
R32
|
R32
|
align="left" |
|
|
NT1
|
|
T12
|
|
|
T32
|
|
T15
|
align="left" |
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
T58
|
T30
|
T16
|
T13
|
T22
|
T20
|
T36
|
!Tournament!!2009!!2010!!2011
|
align="left" |
R64
|
|
DNP
|
align="left" |
T31
|
T37
|
DNP
|
align="left" |
T22
|
T22
|
T53
|
align="left" |
T23
|
DNP
|
|
1Cancelled due to 9/11
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.
Team appearances
Amateur
Eisenhower Trophy: 1996, 1998
St Andrews Trophy: 1996, 1998
Junior Ryder Cup: 1995 (winners), 1997
Jacques Léglise Trophy: 1994, 1995, 1996 (winners), 1997, 1998
Professional
Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1999, 2002 (winners), 2004 (winners), 2006 (winners), 2008, 2010 (non-playing vice-captain, winners)
Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Spain): 1999 (winners)
Seve Trophy (representing Continental Europe): 2000 (winners), 2003
World Cup (representing Spain): 2001, 2004, 2005, 2009
See also
Golfers with most European Tour wins
Golfers with most PGA Tour wins
Monday Night Golf
References
External links
Interview – ''The Observer'', 8 October 2006
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Category:Spanish golfers
Category:European Tour golfers
Category:PGA Tour golfers
Category:Laureus World Sports Awards winners
Category:People from Plana Alta
Category:1980 births
Category:Living people
cy:Sergio García
da:Sergio García
de:Sergio García
es:Sergio García Fernández
fr:Sergio García
id:Sergio Garcia
it:Sergio García
mk:Серхио Гарсија
nl:Sergio García (golfer)
ja:セルヒオ・ガルシア
no:Sergio García
fi:Sergio García
sv:Sergio García
zh:塞爾希奧·加西亞