WHEN Sergio Garcia clinched victory in the Players Championship at Sawgrass on Sunday and kissed the blade of his short stick after the first extra hole of a play-off, it was the most public of confessions that the young Spaniard has put a dark winter on the greens behind him and discovered a putting stroke which can help him win the most significant tournaments in golf.
By common consent, the best player in the game from tee to green who isn't called Tiger Woods, the Spaniard has struggled in recent years to build on the promise which many believed would enable Garcia to rival the number of major successes enjoyed b
y his fabled compatriot Seve Ballesteros. The root cause of Garcia's woe wasn't hard to identify. Compared to the quality of his peerless shotmaking, Sergio's putting was tentative and unsure.
In the modern game, even the most diligent navigators of fairways and greens can't win tournaments if they don't make putts. Garcia, of course, knew putting was his Achilles heel. After three years without a win in which he'd experimented with a belly putter and even once, at the Accenture Match Play in Arizona earlier this season, carried both a short stick and a belly putter in his bag, the 28-year-old decided to rebuild his putting stroke with the aid of short game guru Stan Utley.
The suggestion to work with Utley came from caddie Billy Foster, who previously carried Darren Clarke's bag and recalled the difference the coach had made to the Ulsterman's chipping and putting. Based at the Grayhawk golf club in Scottsdale, Utley is less interested in mechanics than feel and imagination.
For a golfer who is at his best when he plays off the cuff and let's his shots flow, Garcia was a natural to work with the American. The Spaniard told Utley he wanted a stroke which would stir the same feelings of confidence which characterised his work on the greens in 2000 when he putted with the fearlessness of raw youth.
In a sense, Garcia went back to the future to find a stroke which would do the rest of his game justice. While it came as no surprise to learn that the Spaniard was again unmatched from tee to green – he found 76.8 per cent of fairways in regulation, including 14 out of 14 in the second round, as well as locating 77.8 per cent of greens – it was notable how often on Sunday Garcia made important putts when he needed to maintain momentum.
In an enjoyably blunt contribution as a TV commentator for Setanta, Andrew Coltart remarked "Good man, good man" on a number of occasions when Garcia either saved par or made birdie during the last round thanks to a measured putting stroke. His up and down for 5 at the ninth, for example, was crucial in the quest to keep the heat on Paul Goydos. And the seven-footer for par on the 72nd hole which forced a play-off was smoothly executed.
Anecdotally, it looked as if Garcia had putted beautifully. As it turned out, the stats confirmed the transformation. The first European golfer to win the Players since Sandy Lyle holed putts totalling 126 feet, ten inches in the final round – 30 feet more than anyone else in the field.
Asked if he'd ever felt irked in the past at outplaying his opponents in terms of ball striking but failing to make the most of the opportunities which came his way on the greens, Garcia replied: "Yes, it is a little bit frustrating, but the game of golf is not only about hitting the ball.
That's the beauty of it. You have to have every single part of your game in shape. You know, you can be a great ball-striker, but if you can't finish it off… I mean, you're going to win some tournaments, like I did at the Byron Nelson where I won without really putting well. But that doesn't happen too often. You've just got to work on every single aspect of your game."
Having come up short at Carnoustie last summer when he lost a play-off in the Open against Padraig Harrington, there was never the slightest chance of Garcia imploding on this occasion. In windy conditions on a fast running, brutal golf course, the Spaniard carded a closing 71 to catch Goydos on five under par.
When the pair returned to the infamous par 3 17th to settle the tournament, the American played first and dumped his ball in the water.
Garcia was undeterred and proceeded to hit an exquisite wedge shot on to the island green which finished four feet from the cup and victory was his.
Apart from banking a fat cheque for $1.71 million, victory at Sawgrass propelled Garcia from 18th to tenth in the World Rankings yesterday. He also moved up from 16th to third in the race for an automatic qualifying berth in Europe's Ryder Cup side.
If there was never much likelihood of Nick Faldo travelling to Valhalla in Kentucky without the Spaniard, Europe's captain will at least be relieved one of his best players won't need the insurance of a wild card.
Like the rest of Europe, Faldo will also be delighted Garcia has learned how to putt again. After success in the 'fifth' major, there's no reason why Garcia can't spearhead the challenge to Woods at the US Open next month.
The full article contains 927 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
