Mark WiedmerWith the sun about to disappear behind Augusta National Golf Club’s towering pines, Sergio Garcia’s 18-year hunt for an elusive green jacket finally over Sunday evening, three-time Masters champion Nick Faldo framed this somewhat improbable victory as only a very successful professional golfer could.
“Amazing,” he said of Garcia’s first major victory in his 74th attempt, “to pull yourself through the mental scar tissue.”
Could anything better describe the emotional wear and tear of being the one of the best in the world yet coming up short each and every one of your first 73 attempts to become truly special in your sport?
It’s not like Garcia was a star-crossed journeyman the likes of Jean van de Velde, who collapsed on the 72nd hole of the 1999 British Open. No, Garcia is routinely ranked among the top 10 golfers in the world (he stood 11th as of Sunday’s dawn), has won more than $28 million in post-tax prize money and has long been one of the most popular competitors on the PGA and European tours.
All you needed to know about the strength of that popularity was to hear the deafening gallery-wide chants of “Sergi-Oh, Sergi-Oh,” after his birdie putt on the first playoff hole against Justin Rose guaranteed victory.