If you had told sports fans 18 years ago that it would take that long for Garcia to win a major championship, many would have laughed.
This was Garcia's 74th major championship in his almost 20-year pro career, and he had not won the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open or PGA. Westwood, 43, has 18 top-10 finishes in majors, including 11 top-five finishes. The 37-year-old Spaniard, who has nine career PGA Tour wins and 18 global victories, credited his new attitude as a big reason why he is no longer one of the best players in the world without a signature victory, saying it was the calmest he's ever felt in a major on Sunday.
"But lately, you know, I've been getting some good help and I've been thinking a little bit, a little bit different, a little bit more positive".
Garcia on Sunday became the third Spanish player to wear the famous green jacket after Jose Maria Olazabal and the legendary Seve Ballesteros, who died in 2011, on what would have been Ballesteros's 60th birthday.
"Even at 13, I felt calm - it was the calmest I ever felt at a major championship on a Sunday", he said. I'm 37, not 22, but I still feel like I have a lot of great years in me. Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal (another of Garcia's heroes) served paella and tapas in 1995.
As the sun set over Augusta National and the grandstands emptied, 2016 champion Danny Willett placed the infamous green jacket over the shoulders of Sergio Garcia.
Garcia, ranked seventh in the world before Augusta, called it "one of the best 8-irons I've ever hit".
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"He did mention a couple of things that kind of touched my heart a little bit". "I'm not sharing my locker at the moment, and I hope that I get to do it with you", Garcia recounted him as saying.
When a reporter tried to make an analogy comparing Garcia's career - pre-2017 Masters - to a horror movie because of his string of major championship heartbreaks and missteps, Garcia would have none of that.
Garcia then pulled a shot back on the 14th with birdie and then struck an eagle on the following hole, while Rose collected a birdie which saw them tied with three holes to play.
The Spanish golfer even landed his tee shot behind a tree once on the 11th, but he was able to recover masterfully. He had to take a penalty shot to get out and hit his third shot 89 yards short of the green. Sergio hit another great shot at the pin, this time about twelve feet behind the hole on the same line as before. Garcia, meanwhile, played two textbook shots to 10 feet, and after Rose missed his par putt, Garcia's birdie putt curled in the left side.
Both missed makeable birdie putts on the 72nd hole, Rose from seven feet and Garcia from five feet, setting up the playoff. There were some holes I could go after. "I'm very happy. I'm obviously thrilled about what happened here today". For me, golf is about April to September. I thought it would break and it just stayed high.
For his part, Rose said: "I would say this one is one that slipped by, for sure". He made that putt for an eagle three to briefly take the lead. But there's always a group that, I don't know, they are just trying to be amusing not only with me, with everyone, trying to be amusing or something.
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