Capelle On Golf

THE PLAYERS is not a major, but to the long suffering Sergio Garcia, who missed winning the 2007 British Open by about a quarter inch, his victory on Sunday must have felt like one. The event carries golf’s biggest purse, it is referred to as the fifth major, and the event’s history, built over a third of a century, now gives it much of the feel of golf’s big four.

The 2008 edition had all of the drama of a major. Going into the final round Paul Goydos, the ultimate journeyman, held a one shot lead over nine time PGA Tour winner Kenny Perry. Another two shots back was Garcia. Goydos was wielding the hot putter, but Sergio was playing the best golf tee-to-green.

Someone had to give, and the first to lose it was Perry. After 11 holes he was four over for the day, and had taken himself out of the running. With five holes to play Goydos held a three shot lead over Garcia and Jeff Quinney, who was in the midst of a masterful display of golf on a windy day that saw gusts up to 40 mph.

On 14 Garcia’s ball ended up on the far left side of the green, 47 feet from the hole. A par or a three putt bogey were the likely outcomes. But Garcia dropped this bomb, Goydos over shot the green and made bogey a few minutes later, and suddenly Garcia had pulled to within a shot. One hole later he was even. Goydos reclaimed the lead with a birdie at 16 after Garcia had missed a short birdie putt on that hole a few minutes earlier. Both made routine pars on the dangerous 17th.

The par 4 18th was playing to an average of about 4.9 for the day thanks to the strong left to right wind, which was pushing most drives into the right rough. Garcia’s ended up there, and he wisely laid up about 40 yards short of the pin. His pitch nearly hit the flag, before rolling seven feet past the cup. Knowing that he had to make the putt to have any chance of making a playoff he did what Tiger did at the 2000 PGA – he drained it in the center of the cup. Goydos, like Garcia, drove into the right rough on 18, then punched out to within 47 yards of the pin.

Up to this point Goydos had played like a champion who had been in this position countless times before. In truth Goydos, at age 43, had but one top 20 in a major in his entire career. The wheels finally came off. He chunked his pitch shot just enough so that his ball rolled to a stop nine feet short. His putt was not close, so he and Garcia proceeded to the 17th tee, a most unusual hole to start a sudden death playoff if ever there was one.

Goydos won the draw and elected to hit first, hoping to put the pressure on Garcia. His shot splashed down a yard shy of the bulkhead on the right side of the green. Garcia responded with a wedge shot to within three feet, sealing the championship.

THE PLAYERS Starts on the Back Nine
454-344-534 36 Par
443-434-534 34 Sergio Garcia
353-355-435 36 Paul Goydos
444-244-435 34 Jeff Quinney

It was hard not to root for Goydos. He seems like a very likeable guy, and he kept his composure and kept plugging away right till the end. If he were 15 years younger I would have definitely rooted for him because he’s a local boy. But fair is fair and quite frankly, as Johnny Miller said on Saturday, Garcia deserved to win based on his ball striking. Goydos graciously concurred. Not moments after the playoff he said that, “Sergio played better than anyone else. Look at the stats.” And so he did. Garcia led the field in GIR at 77.77% (compared to Goydos’ 55.56%). He was also number one in hitting fairways at 76.79% (compared to Goydos’ 62.50%).

The old saying goes that you drive for show and putt for dough. In Sergio’s case the winning formula was a combination of both. His driving was the big key to hitting so many of Sawgrass’ small greens, and when he needed for his putter to be there, it came through time and again in the final round.

The End of the Beginning
In the past, the knock on Garcia was that he couldn’t play on Sunday, he couldn’t putt under pressure, and he couldn’t win the big ones. While he still hasn’t won a major, he’s won the closest thing and, in the process, displayed every facet of the game required to win the four big ones.

Garcia has been a work in progress ever since the 1999 PGA in which he lost to Tiger Woods by a single stroke. His education has included eight non-winning top fives on the majors. With this win he’s come to the end of a long beginning – the developmental phase is over.

El Nino appears to have finally have blossomed into a competitor who is capable of giving Tiger a run for his money in the majors. Johnny Miller certainly likes his chances because he said more than once that Garcia’s game with reasonably good putting was right up there with Woods’. Let’s hope so, because a rival or two for Woods is what golf’s been needing ever since Tiger burst upon the scene.