"I felt the calmest I've ever felt on a major Sunday".
Much was made of the connection to Ballesteros throughout the week, but Garcia highlighted the influence of another Spanish two-time Masters champion, Jose Maria Olazabal. "He was playing extremely well", Garcia said. "To do it on his 60th birthday, it's something fantastic". But McIlroy, seeking the career grand slam, has a penchant for going low late at Augusta National, shooting in the 60s in three of his last four final rounds at the Masters.
"Sergio often feels like he's not supported the way he would like to be here in America", said the vanquished Rose. "He's had his fair share of heartbreak". Sergio and Justin played great golf.
It didn't matter. Garcia curled in a 12-foot birdie that gave him the green jacket.
Garcia got a stroke back with a brilliant birdie on the par-4 14th and poured in a 15-foot eagle putt on the par-5 15th when his approach landed a foot from the hole and clipped the flagstick. "A lot of good things happened today and it was a wonderful battle with Sergio so don't feel bad for me". Garcia squatted and shook with excitement, rose and screamed with joy and hugged good pal Rose before walking around the green to revel in the moment, pumping his fist and punching the green in delight.
"He definitely popped in my mind a few times, there is no doubt about it", Garcia said of Ballesteros, who died in 2011 of complications resulting from a cancerous brain tumor. "At 37 Sergio broke the curse that lasted almost two decades since he was second at the USPGA in a battle with Tiger Woods at 19", Madrid's other sports daily AS said in its online edition. "I thought I had it on 18 (in regulation)". I hit the putt exactly where I wanted.I practised that putt in the practice round and it breaks left. "And I'm so happy". "You deserve it all amigo!"
Now 37, Garcia has finally removed the major monkey off his back. He took an unplayable lie penalty, then punched into the fairway. But the putt missed to the right this time, and Garcia made it a moot point by rolling in his birdie. "I didn't just hit the ball up and down or make the putts I needed to".
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"It's a great time in our lives and it's all about that over the next couple of weeks and I'll come back at the Players refreshed and a married man and start a new chapter in my life".
"I really felt like I had it under control at the turn, I was playing really great golf", Rose said.
"But I knew that I could still work it around, you know, if I just accepted what was happening".
Rose turned things around with three straight birdies from Nos. "But this is a tournament I am going to win one day".
Rose went back ahead with a birdie at the 16th, Garcia pulled even again when Rose bogeyed the 17th, and they both missed those short ones at the 18th. Rose now led by two.
Putting first, Rose missed his par putt and tapped in for bogey.
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