Caddie Glen Murray with Garcia
At the US Open while the golfing world hailed the new arrival of the new kid, Sergio García finished seventh last Sunday, his best result since came second at the British Open in 2007 and the PGA Championship in 2008, where he lost on both occasions to Padraig Harrington.
Since then El Niño has played in 10 majors and on two occasions failed to make the cut.
At the Congressional Country Club, García was more consistent and carded rounds of 69, 71, 69 and 70, with a number of smiles thrown in during the four days to suggest he is enjoying being back in the game.
Had the US Open not seen the precocious talent of Rory McIlroy tear the course apart, and a world class field, then Garcia might have been in the mix.
"I felt better, calmer," said García. "On the final day I had problems with certain shots and I lacked a little confidence, but I played well and I should look ahead and keep improving. In general, I stood up well. When I played the qualification in Memphis I took it little by little, first trying to qualify and not looking too far ahead. I would have liked to have finished better here to get into the British Open. I still have next week. But if I continue on this path, I should be back in the top 50 before too long and that will fix a lot of things."
García's seventh place gives him direct access into the Augusta Masters and the next US Open, as well as driving him up the ranking, a boon to his confidence ahead of the British Open, for which he must still qualify.
On Saturday Garcia took another big step on the comeback trail with a 64 in Munich - and now hopes to rescue a place in next month's Open Championship at Sandwich.
Six strokes behind at the halfway stage of the BMW International Open, Garcia charged all the way into the lead with a nine-birdie display.
A top four finish could give Garcia - seventh in last week's US Open Championship - one of two Open Championship places up for grabs from a mini-money list that has been running on The European Tour for the past month.
"I knew for British Open purposes I needed to do something special," said the Spanish star, who a month ago pulled out of a qualifying event in America after five holes because of an infected fingernail.
"I don't expect to be in the lead going into tomorrow, but at least I have a chance.
"Last week was good - it was nice to be up there in a Major again.
"I didn't have a chance to win because Rory (McIlroy) was playing out of his mind, but it feels like the game is coming along and I think my putting is definitely improving."
Garcia, who made it into the US Open only through a qualifying play-off, has not missed a Major since the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie.
He was second in the Official World Golf Ranking behind Tiger Woods two years ago, but then fell outside the top 80 and even took time out late last season to try to rediscover his love for the game.
No comments:
Post a Comment