It’s been an eventful month for Sergio Garcia. After narrowly missing out on his 100th major championship at next week’s Open at Royal Troon, Garcia has sent LIV Andalucia into a play-off with Anirban Lahiri, who missed the shortest putt imaginable and is now in a play-off situation.
Garcia, who finished a surprising T12 at the US Open at Pinehurst in June, shot 5 under on Sunday, good enough to move him to 5 under overall for the week. That might not seem like enough, but Lahiri made it happen on his final hole.
The defeat also sent his Crushers into a play-off against Garcia’s Fireballs.
Garcia won the individual title after two playoffs, while teammates David Puig and Abraham Ancer defeated Lahiri’s teammates Bryson DeChambeau and Paul Casey in the team portion of the playoffs.
“I was really emotional after making the shot on hole 18 to win after seeing my teammates win the team event,” Garcia said.
“I mean, it’s been amazing. So much work, so many hours with my wife, with my dad, with Matt, my mental coach, with everyone, with Andrew, of course with Neil, my new caddie. It’s been tough — it’s been great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s been tough losing a couple of playoffs this year, being really close to qualifying for the British Open and trying to get my 100th major, just missing it 10 days ago. It’s definitely been a roller coaster.
“But I know I’m playing well. I love this place. I love these people. I’m so grateful to everyone for what we achieved today.”
Garcia was attempting to qualify for The Open at Royal Troon in West Lancashire on July 2. After his group was timed, he admitted he was confused and affected by it. Garcia then finished two shots clear of a potential play-off to reach his 100th major championship.
Despite that, he bounced back, calling the LIV Andalucia win one of the highlights of his career. He then went one step further, mentioning Carlos Alcaraz’s win over Novak Djokovic to win Wimbledon and tonight’s Spain-England football match at the European Championship.
“I could be wrong, but I think if the football team wins tonight, it will probably be one of the most important days in the history of Spanish sport,” he said. “Alcaraz wins, we win both individually and as a team, and then the national team wins the Euro Cup. It’s amazing that all four things happen on the same day. It’s amazing.”
