When Garcia stood at the same hole in the final round staring at trouble on the bank above the creek, he made a decision to fight back instead of folding up. Instead of pouting, he figured out how to make par. But before Sergio's long winning putt dropped, there was a miss from five feet that sent the competition to a playoff. Usually resigned to fail, Garcia proved to be more resilient than ever.
Not two hours earlier, it looked like the Masters was his for the taking.
"It's been an fantastic week", Garcia said, "and I'm going to enjoy it for the rest of my life".
Sergio Garcia won a sudden-death playoff Sunday against Justin Rose to decide the 81st Masters Tournament.
This was not the first time Akins has come to watch her fiancé play. He clenched both fists and shook them repeatedly. Rose, who has one major - the 2013 U.S. Open - to his name, showed disappointment in being unable to win the Masters.
Rose, who also played 69, then brace to Garcia, before giving her a little blow on the heart.
"Ser-gee-oh! Ser-gee-oh!" the delirious gallery chanted to Garcia. It was the 37-year-old's first Masters win. "But I knew I was playing well".
Garcia became the third Spaniard in a green jacket, winning on what would have been the 60th birthday of the late Seve Ballesteros.
"It is wonderful. To do it on his (Ballesteros') 60th birthday and to join him and Jose Maria Olazabal, my two idols in golf, it is something fantastic", said Garcia.
But the most important message Garcia received may have come before he took his first swing. He battled to the end. "If there was anyone to lose to it would be Sergio".
There's Jordan Spieth, who "obviously has a special relationship the Masters", Rose said. "He deserves it, he's had his fair share of heartache".
His third-round break was a 4-iron second shot at the par-5 13th seemingly condemned to Rae's Creek that clung to the far bank. he chipped inches from the cup and made a birdie. Rose went first, and pushed his tee shot right.
Spain pays homage to Masters victor , Sergio Garcia
You know about the meltdown when he kicked a sign and threw one of his shoes in a tantrum over a ruling in a European Tour event. Garcia bogeyed 10, bogeyed 11, and, already down two strokes, bounced his drive off a tree and into the bushes on 13.
Garcia and Rose began overtime after finishing four rounds of golf at 9 under. On Sunday, we have another opportunity for the right narrative to finally play out.
When receiving the trophy, Garcia looked up to the heavens and thanked Ballesteros, who died six years ago.
He hit wedge to 7 feet and escaped with par.
He shot 74-73-74-73 for a final score of six over.
"Other than that I did all the good things, birdied the par-fives, and hit some good shots and I'm in decent position going into the weekend", said Rose, the world number 14.
Garcia quickly found himself in front of a deficit of two shots after bogueys at the 10th and 11th holes.
Not since 1998 have the last two players on the course gone to the 18th tied for the lead, and both had their chances to win.
Justin Rose walks to the tenth green on Saturday. It really stung when Garcia missed an even shorter putt. "I feel if he misses there I'm full clear and looking at Thomas Pieters and Matt Kuchar". Though he did make birdies on three of his final holes, including at the last, No. 12 once again was his nemesis. Spieth, though, started clawing back with a birdie on No. 16 to reframe his focus and, although he was 10 shots down, he had confidence he could contend.
That why his comments all week at the Masters that he had changed his attitude, that he was learning to accept bad bounces, was met with skepticism. He realized he has a "beautiful life" even if he never won a major.
Then, Garcia responded with an incredible turn that started with drama.
And then smiling, he added, "But it happened".
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