Friday 22 December 2017 16:27, UK
In part one of our review of the 2017 major championships, David Livingstone reflects on a memorable maiden major triumph for Sergio Garcia at the Masters.
The Masters was yet another great tournament with a number of great storylines throughout the week. It came down to two pairings heading into the final round in near-perfect conditions on Sunday and, while Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler couldn't get it going, Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose served up an enthralling battle.
In terms of trying to predict who was going to be fitted for a Green Jacket at the end of the day, it was all about balancing head versus heart. That remains the case even when we reflect on the outcome now, and it was impossible not to enjoy the sight of Sergio finally getting that major under his belt.
While many were rooting for Sergio, I still feel - in part - that Justin deserved to win the Masters. Justin works so hard on his game and works so hard on peaking for the majors, particularly for Augusta where he's finished second, 10th and second over the last three years.
Paul McGinley often talks about Justin being such a methodical, structured player and that will surely lead to him winning more majors in the future, but he couldn't quite get over the line at the Masters this year - it was Sergio's time … at last!
Obviously, Justin would have had huge support from his fanbase not just in England, but around the world as he is immensely popular. But he already had a major tucked away, and the sentimental favourite at Augusta National had to be Sergio Garcia.
When he missed from six feet to win on the 72nd hole, many feared the play-off could be hard to watch if Sergio struggled to deal with that psychological blow, something he may have found a lot more difficult a few years ago.
But sitting there in the studio watching the drama unfold, we noticed that when he came off the 18th green in regulation, his fiancée Angela was immediately on hand with words of encouragement and advice to pick him up.
It wasn't as if she was acting as a cheerleader, more of a mind coach. She seemed to take charge of the situation and reminded her man that the tournament was still there for the taking.
I've criticised him for being too "why me" in the past, and he's admitted as much with plenty of honesty over the years. We've seen him come so close, so many times at majors and he'd often take on a "why me" approach afterwards.
But this was about life issues rather than sporting issues. Sergio's personal life is now far more relaxed and comfortable, he's been happier on and off the course for a while now, and Angela's influence was abundantly clear ahead of his Masters play-off against Justin Rose.
It was a different Sergio all-round in 2017, just five years on from him declaring that he had resigned himself to never winning a major and that he was happy to play for second. To turn that around, at Augusta National? What a perfect place for him to do that.
Garcia made probably the best par of his life at the 13th. He was three ahead on the front nine, then Justin reeled him in and, after Sergio struggled around the turn, the Spaniard was suddenly three behind with six holes to play.
It looked like worse was to follow when he pulled his drive into the pines at the 13th and was forced to take a drop. Would the "old Sergio" have gone for the green from an almost-impossible position?
Well, maybe not. But I'm convinced that the Sergio Garcia of four or five years ago would have not been able to find a way back into contention. His head would have gone, and he would have lost his composure and confidence.
The new-found happiness in his all-round life clearly helped him in his decision making this year, and that was never more abundantly obvious than at the Masters on that 13th hole. He took his medicine, pitched down the fairway, flicked a safe wedge to 10 feet and rolled in the putt for a priceless par.
That paved the way for his brilliance over the next four holes, making a kick-in birdie at 14 and then a spectacular eagle at the next after clipping the pin with his second. His attitude remained positive throughout, and that's something we probably would not have seen from him in the past.
Tomorrow: The emergence of Tommy Fleetwood at the US Open ...
