Sergio Garcia showed signs all summer of finally wanting to grow up at age 29. He couldn’t have been more classy in congratulating Charlie Wi for a 50-foot putt on the 72nd hole of the PGA Championship, making a journeyman feel great - even as his own heart was breaking from blowing another major he should have won. Garcia seemed determined to take the high road at Oakland Hills in his first two TV interviews too, but then he morphed back into the old petulant Sergio with the print media, chalking up some of Padraig Harrington’s gutsy comeback and his own collapse to luck and bad breaks.

Sergio came so close so often to being a good loser - until he’d yank it all away and be the spoiled brat of a childhood that’s approaching its third decade now. His ridiculous premature celebration on the first playoff hole of the first FedEx Cup event in New Jersey comes to mind.

But maybe, just maybe, Sergio is maturing after all.

His comments after his win today in Spain - a tournament where he was almost as good a host-like figure as Justin Timberlake in Las Vegas - at least shows Garcia is thinking of someone besides himself. That alone is hard for many pampered pro athletes to comprehend.

But there was Garcia dedicating his victory at the Castello Masters at the course where his dad is the club pro to Seve Ballesteros, the Spanish golf legend in a Madrid hospital fighting brain cancer.

“I couldn’t help but think about Seve,” Garcia said. “I’m sending all my love to him and his family and hope he recovers soon. I hope this victory helps him to get a little better.”

Sure, it’s much easier to be classy in victory than defeat. But that’s still a first rate move by Garcia, someone who’s always been thought of well by tournament volunteers, someone who just needs to get over trying to dismiss his major failings as a fluke.

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