Golf, cruel? Really?
Standing on the 17th tee Sunday afternoon at TPC Sawgrass with his second Players Championship trophy tantalizingly within reach, Sergio Garcia was in command of his own destiny.
Birdies on the Nos. 11, 13 and 16 launched Garcia into a share of the lead at 13-under with Tiger Woods. And earlier Sunday morning, Garcia actually hit the flagstick on No. 17 en route to a birdie as players finished third round play suspended the evening before because of darkness.
“That hole [No. 17] has been good to me for the most part,” Garcia said in his press conference afterwards.
Garcia won The Players Championship in 2008 on this hole. On this particular Sunday however, No. 17 would have its revenge on Garcia.
Mouthing the word “go” almost immediately after hitting his shot, Garcia’s ball splashed into the water and never reached the iconic island green.
“I just under-hit it a little bit,” Garcia said. “I felt with a little bit of adrenaline, I didn’t want to shoot over the green with a wedge. I needed to hit it a little bit harder and was maybe a little bit too confident.”
Garcia still had a slim chance of forcing a playoff with Woods if he could escape the 17th hole with a bogey, and card a birdie on No. 18 (which he did on Friday).
But reminiscent of the movie “Tin Cup,” Garcia curiously elected to re-hit again from the tee rather than hit from the drop area, unceremoniously sinking his second shot into the water as well — bouncing it off the front bunker ridge on way to a quadruple-bogey seven. Garcia’s excruciating collapse was completed when he also drove his tee shot into the water on No. 18 for a double-bogey, tumbling to a T-8 finish.
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Fairly or unfairly Garcia’s collapse will again renew discussions about the mercurial Spaniard being a whiner and a choker.
On Saturday, Garcia called it “unfortunate” that Woods disrupted Garcia’s second shot from the par-5 second hole when Tiger took out a fairway wood from his bag causing the crowd around him to cheer loudly in the middle of Garcia’s swing.
Garcia implied it was intentional, while Woods countered he wasn’t surprised to learn of Garcia “complaining about something.” The bickering continued through to Sunday when Garcia said Woods “is not the nicest guy on tour.”
But this is a far cry from the days of Garcia bellyaching “the golf gods are against me,” or somberly moaning “I get no breaks.” This was simply Garcia expressing his opinion about a fellow competitor who he genuinely dislikes. And there’s nothing wrong with not liking someone you’re competing against.
Unlike most other sports, the Tour carries an image of its players all generally getting along and liking each other. But as someone in the media pointed out, there’s a difference between “respecting someone” and “liking them.”
And calling Garcia a choker because of what happened on No. 17 is equally going too far.
In total, 44 balls were hit in the water on the 17th hole over the weekend. In 2007, a record 93 balls got wet. Pete Dye’s island green is 130 some yards with a fairly large green, a shot on any other course that Tour professionals will hit consistently to a few yards round the clock.
But No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass is specifically designed to wreck havoc on even the best of players, particularly on the weekend when the pressure is jacked up. It happened to Jeff Maggert on Sunday who was also in position to win. It happened to Paul Goydos here in 2008.
Garcia didn’t blow a four-stroke or five-stroke lead. Garcia didn’t systematically collapse over the course of a tournament. He unraveled on a hole designed to create bad shots and cause chaos. Garcia played the best closer in the game, and No. 1 player in the world (who’s happened to close 52 of the last 56 when he has the 54-hole lead ) to a dead draw for 70 holes.
And making matters worse for Garcia, the crowd cheered wildly when Garcia’s first shot at No. 17 found the water, and even wilder when he did it again on his second shot. That would rattle just about anyone but the most resolute players on Tour, let alone someone like Garcia who feeds on emotion, albeit both to his benefit and detriment.
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Garcia is and will remain one of the most polarizing players on Tour, and for good reason. But give credit where credit is due. Garcia played well, very well in fact. Just not well enough to win. And if you play the game long enough, the game will burn you, sometimes in the cruelest ways imaginable. Just ask Adam Scott, or Jim Furyk, and yes, even Tiger Woods.