Mar 08

Sergio Garcia will never be a better golfer than he is now

Ever since a teenage Sergio Garcia burst onto the world golf stage in the 1999 PGA Championship at Medinah with his now famous challenge of Tiger Woods, greatness has been predicted for him. He has become a steady presence in the bottom half of the top 10 golfers in the World Ranking but has stalled out there. Not that there is anything wrong with that. All golfers alive - except for the 5 or 6 ahead of him - would be thrilled with that accomplishment.

In Sergio’s case it seems like the dreaded story of wasted potential. Many would say that he is just unlucky to be playing during the reign of Tiger Woods but it looks like more than that. There is now some severe mental scarring that will likely never be overcome.

The first sign of it was that incredible re-gripping that was hard to even watch. How he ever pulled the trigger after about 30 seconds of that is beyond me. And he has been suffering from putting woes for quite some time - and this at a young age. Seldom does that ever get better as a pro golfer gets older. Perhaps he can take hope from Vijay Singh who in recent years had a prolonged spell of good putting (for him).

On top of that he has blown several tournaments when leading at the start of the final round. And not just getting beat but doing the moonwalk down the leaderboard. That pressure of playing in the final group now appears to be more than he can bear - especially when Tiger is in the field.

Sergio would be over-achieving to match the record of his countryman Jose Maria Olazabal (with 2 majors), but don’t expect him to even come close to the record of his idol, Seve Ballesteros. That is never going to happen.

« Annika Sorenstam's dominance of women's golf

Gunfight at the OK Doral - starring Tiger Woods as Wyatt Earp »

10 comments

§ TaylorMade said on : 03/09/06 @ 11:50
Tour insiders say that the only thing Sergio leads the PGA tour in is women bagged. Not a bad stat to lead in, according to his buddy Adam Scott Sergio is the new Don Juan of the tour taking the mantle from an aging Fred Couples. As far as his game goes, he seems to strike the ball as well as anyone, but his putting will need to improve greatly if he is ever to contend consistently for titles. Dare I say, but he is starting to look a lot like an also ran in some of these events.
§ winston said on : 03/09/06 @ 14:10
Sergio is a racist..and hangs out with the racists on tour.
§ Shanks® said on : 03/09/06 @ 14:20
So that's what it is - wild women will give you the yips. I think my momma told me that ...
§ Alex said on : 03/13/06 @ 18:10
Winston, Just for my own edification, how could you possibly know that Sergio Garcia is a racist? And what's this about him hanging out with racists on tour? I wasn't aware that the PGA and European tours had groups of racists traveling with the golfers. You should be very careful about making such scurrilous accusations, even on an internet message board.
§ winston rodney said on : 03/15/06 @ 14:34
be serious Alex!
§ Alex said on : 03/15/06 @ 19:17
Shanks, Have you got any idea who this winston character is? Maybe he missed the bus back to the group home. Too many funny cigarettes and not enough medication.
§ Shanks® said on : 03/16/06 @ 07:55
I have no idea what Winston is talking about. Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I heard a hispanic person being called a racist.

Winston, if you've got something to say about Sergio or the Tour - say it here.
§ Alex said on : 03/16/06 @ 08:56
Shanks, If you have the stomach, check out some more of winston's ramblings on Ron Mon's blog (things that make no sense...). Now, in winston's addled mind, Luke Donald is also a racist. At least that's what I think he means. I think that winston needs to enter rehab and therapy.
§ bestputter4 said on : 03/20/06 @ 22:49
sergio is the best overall ball striker in the world as well as the most talented he has every key to winning many majors and my prediction is 4 (high i know but consider age) as far as a womanizer. IT IS 100% correct. He even hooked up with a fellow ryder cuppers sister. Thomas Levet said they had to remind him they had to play golf the next day. He is very skilled and an unbelievable talent! he will fix his putting. I have played with him on several occasions where he rolled the ball well.
§ winston said on : 06/10/06 @ 08:12
If I actually knew Sergio personally, maybe I would make a statement like that, but its far from true, I thought I was actually a man to my word but thats just my own jealousy and problem being a no talent ass clown who could hit a golf ball or even get a woman to look at me and I think sergio is wonderful, kind person and he doesnt see color as an issue, please tell me what he did that was so racist to remind my self why im such loser and have to belittle others just so I can have some self esteem and feel important because I honestly have no life and never been laid