Garcia faces test of character after setback prolongs his major agony

Published on Tuesday 24 July 2007 00:31

SERGIO Garcia has had plenty of practice at picking up the pieces after disappointment in the majors. But coping with losing a four-shot advantage, then a one-shot lead on the last, and then a play-off will be the hardest thing the 27-year-old has ever had to face in his career.

His name was literally on the famous Claret Jug, as the engraver lightly etched the letters into the silver-rimmed base, before having to switch to Padraig Harrington when it became time to commit a name for perpetuity.

It is not known if Garcia is aware that this happened, and it would not have improved his mood. He was not just on the wrong end of what luck was going, but also the victim of what he saw as an unnecessary delay at a key moment.

Garcia left Carnoustie with a sour taste in his mouth, complaining about the amount of time it took before he could play his second shot to the 72nd hole when he was one ahead.

"Having to wait 15 minutes on the fairway doesn't help when you are trying to win the British Open," said the Spaniard.

He eventually pulled it into a bunker, splashed out to eight feet, but just failed to hole the putt.

Garcia, whose previous trip to the course saw him shoot 89, 83 and finish last, also cursed what he saw as his exceptional bad luck. "I don't know how my putt missed. I'm still trying to ask myself, trying to find an answer on that," he said.

At the second hole of the play-off Garcia hit the flagstick from the tee, but his ball bounced away. "It's funny how some guys hit the pin and go to a foot. Mine hits the pin and goes 20 feet away," he said. "You know what's the saddest thing about it? It's not the first time, unfortunately."

But it was not just about luck. Garcia entered the final day's play three shots ahead of the field, and six ahead of Harrington. He played an average round and average rounds don't win major tournaments.

How he copes with his misfortune is critical to his future prospects. It could now be easier for him to win from behind, because of the negative memory he will have of failing from the front. Should he ever find himself in that position again, the pressure on him will be enormous, and that fact would not be lost on his pursuers. In a game so heavily influenced by mental strength, Garcia will harbour doubts in his darker moments.

How cruel golf can be. Eleven years ago, the Spaniard put hands on the Claret Jug after Tom Lehman had won at Royal Lytham. The American had become friends with Garcia after he first saw him hit balls at the 1995 Lancome Trophy in Paris when the youngster was just 15 - and thought "holy smoke."

Garcia remembers Lehman joking: "'You know what, you better hold on to the cup because you're going to do it, so you better start practising."

But becoming Open champion is proving harder than anybody imagined when Garcia was runner-up to Tiger Woods at the 1999 US PGA when just 19.

As for Woods, he managed only 12th place. But with 12 majors to his name and a baby at home, life is still sweet for the world No1. Sweeter than it must seem for Garcia at the moment.