Sergio Garcia’s Masters victory validated his illustrious career with a major trophy, after so many near misses, while building the legacy of Spanish golf. The 37-year-old is now in the elite company of two-time Masters winners Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal, who have seven major titles between them.
Garcia’s victory in a playoff against Justin Rose of England gained poignancy because Ballesteros, who died in 2011 at 54 from brain cancer, would have been 60 on Sunday. “To do it on his 60th birthday and to join him and Olazabal, my two idols in golf my whole life, it’s something amazing,” Garcia told reporters after putting on the green jacket of Augusta National Golf Club.
Spain now ranks seventh among countries in majors won with eight, behind the United States, Scotland, England, South Africa, Australia and Jersey, and ahead of Northern Ireland, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Wales and Sweden.
After the sudden-death playoff, which followed a tie between Garcia and Rose at 9-under for 72 holes, Garcia’s father, Victor, could be seen celebrating at Augusta National with Spanish celebrity chef Jose Andres.
Olazabal, too, was there.
When Olazabal won his first Masters in 1994, he hit a final-round eagle on the 15th hole, a feat that Garcia repeated Sunday, but not before coming within centimetres, or less, of striking an albatross that would have won the title in regulation.
Garcia, ranked seventh in the world before Augusta, called it “one of the best 8-irons I’ve ever hit.” He converted the eagle from 12 feet with “one of the best putts I hit all week.”
Olazabal, 51, had his own sojourn with eight top-10 finishes in the majors before breaking through at the Masters. On the eve of the Masters, Olazabal, who was in the field of 93 players but missed the cut after 36 holes, sent an encouraging text message, Garcia said. The note said “how much he believed in me, and what I needed to do – just pretty much believe in myself, and being calm and not letting things get to me that I’ve done in the past,” Garcia said.
Like all previous winners at Augusta National, Olazabal has the use of the champions’ locker room. “I’m not sharing my locker at the moment, and I hope that I get to do it with you,” Garcia recounted him as saying.
In his crisp, new green jacket with the Augusta National logo, the 2017 winner turned to one of the Masters officials: “So if you guys wouldn’t mind putting me with Jose, it would be great.”
Like the Spanish champions before him, Garcia may already have an obvious successor, too. Jon Rahm, 22, who turned pro last year, won his first PGA Tour event in January at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego, California, which has him at 13th in the world rankings. He made the cut at Augusta and finished with a share of 27th place in the Masters, spending much of the week in the top 15.
Surely there is no shortage of sporting heroes Spain can take inspiration from.
