SERGIO García has put Spain back on the world golfing map with an epic win at the Augusta National Masters in Georgia, USA – 18 years after his début on the course.
This was also the last time a Spaniard won a major golf tournament - José María Olazábal netted the Augusta in 1999, and since then the country has remained a relatively minor player in the sport.
“The truth is that I'm still the same person, although I'm really satisfied and proud, not only with my performance on the course but also of all the people who have supported me and all those who have been there since the start of my career,” said a euphoric García just after donning the green winners' jacket.
García and his Ryder Cup team-mate Justin Rose were tied at -9 after 18 holes and had to go to a play-off, which Garcia won by 2 stokes giving him Spain's first big win this century.
“It's great to achieve what I believe I deserved – I felt very calm throughout the whole of today because I knew I was playing well,” admitted Sergio.
Olazábal, and the late Severiano Ballesteros, who would have tunred 60 yesterday (Sunday) are García's idols and he has always tried to emulate their play.
It was his sensational eagle at hole 15 which sealed his victory, exactly as was the case with dual champion Olazábal in 1994 and whose swings from among the trees mirrored those of Ballesteros – the first European to win a Masters, back in 1980, and who designed the famous golf course at Oliva Nova (Valencia province).
Despite this, Ballesteros was a 'northerner' and not from the Valencia region, so Sergio García is the first Valencian to net this prestigious title – he comes from Burriana, on the coast of the region's northernmost province of Castellón.
