LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – The only thing worse than being mentioned as the best player without a major is to not be mentioned at all.
Sergio Garcia is back in the conversation.
Fifteen years after he had his first close call in the PGA Championship as a 19-year-old, Garcia arrived at Valhalla coming off a pair of runner-up finishes. He briefly challenged Rory McIlroy in the British Open, and then lost a three-shot lead to McIlroy last week at Firestone.
Garcia says he hasn’t been this confident about his game since 2008.
The Spaniard says he is more excited about his recent close calls instead of looking at them as failures. He says if someone plays better, there’s nothing he can do. That used to be Tiger Woods. Now it appears to be McIlroy.