Day 4: Garcia and putter make nice on Sunday
By T.J. Auclair, PGATOUR.COM Interactive Producer
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- There are many love/hate relationships when it comes to players and their putters on the PGA TOUR.
Perhaps there's none more famous than Sergio Garcia and his revolving door of flat sticks. But as the sun was setting Sunday evening at TPC Sawgrass, the two were lovebirds on a long-awaited honeymoon. After tapping in for par on the first playoff hole -- the intimidating par-3 17th -- to beat Paul Goydos and claim the 35th PLAYERS Championship, the Spaniard puckered up and gave his putter a kiss.
"Yeah, I guess it was a reaction," said Garcia of his putter peck. "Everybody can take it the way they want."
Much is made of Garcia and his putting woes, but they might not be as bad as one would think. Sure, of the 74 players that made the cut this week, Garcia was tied for 39th in the field with number of putts made per greens in regulation (1.786). That's nothing to write home about.
But the fact that Garcia was able to snatch up his grandest victory to date despite the so-so putting is a testament to his incredible ball-striking. For the week, Garcia led the field in driving accuracy, hitting 76.8 percent of his fairways, including a perfect 14-of-14 in Friday's second round. He was also the best in the field when it came to greens in regulation at a 77.8 percent clip.
And as for that putter? Garcia will be the first to admit it's a struggle. That's why he sought the help of short-game guru and former TOUR player Stan Utley this year. And on Sunday, when it mattered most, he holed a combined 126 feet, 10 inches worth of putts, about 30 feet more than anyone else in the field.
"The goal is to keep getting better, and the only thing this tells me is to keep working hard and to believe in myself, and when I do believe in myself, I think there's not a lot of guys out there that can beat me," Garcia said. "So it's just a matter of doing that, and knowing the capability that I have within myself and my game. "
On Thursday, Goydos noted that the total distance of putts made per round is a terrific stat that is often overlooked.
"I think the stat that's the most important stat that they get is the distance of putts made," Goydos said at the time. "If you're making 150 feet worth of putts, you're having a good day... I think that's the stat that intrigues me the most. Unless you're hitting it pretty good, that's a stat you need to do very well at."
Goydos, we might add, finished first in that category this week, nailing 419 feet, 9 inches of putts. But, on Sunday, he was about 50 feet short of Garcia.
Asked about what people perceive as Garcia's Achilles heel, Goydos shed even more perspective Sunday.
"I think we need to understand, his putting, he hits the ball so good we talked about the second round where he hit 16 (actually 14) greens. By virtue of being such a good ball striker, he's going to have a lot more 20 and 30 footers, and therefore it's not going to look like he's putting as well as a guy who is hitting eight greens and chipping it to five feet and making them," Goydos said.
"So when you say that he ... struggles with his putting, you need to put it in the context with the rest of his game, and the rest of his game is pretty good; so therefore, he has less opportunities, per se, to make putts.
"I think it's a little bit off center to say that he's not a good putter."
For all the flak Garcia gets for the cranky putter, the fact remains that he's as good a ball-striker as you'll find on the PGA TOUR. However, he knows it's not all about the ball-striking.
"The game of golf is not only about hitting the ball," he said. "That's the beauty of it. You have to have every single part of your game in shape. You know, you can be a great ball striker, but if you can't finish it off, I mean, you're going to win some tournaments -- like I did Byron Nelson [2005] where I won without really putting well -- but it doesn't happen too often. You've just got to work on every single aspect of your game."
Exactly, because few moments in golf are more rewarding than the one Garcia experienced on Sunday night.
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| 3 | The number of playoffs in PLAYERS Championship history. |
| 2 | The number of times in the 35-year history that a European has won THE PLAYERS after Sergio Garcia's win on Sunday. |
| 78 | As in 6-over par, the final-round score shot by defending champion Phil Mickelson, who wound up in a tie for 21st. |
ROUND OF THE DAY: Chad Campbell's 4-under-par 68. It was one of only two rounds in the 60s (Dean Wilson shot a 69). Campbell had six birdies on the day to go against just one bogey, which was outstanding considering the whipping winds. He ended up tying for 10th place.
SHOT OF THE DAY I: Sergio Garcia's tee shot on the par-3 17th in the playoff. Simply incredible. After watching Paul Goydos splash his tee shot, Garcia deftly stepped up and executed the type of shot players dream about, sticking it to about four feet. In fitting fashion, Garcia's putter failed him yet again as the short putt slipped past the right side of the cup, but his ensuing tap-in par was more than enough for the win.
SHOT OF THE DAY II: As former New York Yankee great Yogi Berra would say, it was deja vu all over again. For the second time in as many days, Kevin Stadler eagled the par-4 fourth hole. Stadler first turned the trick on Saturday with a sand wedge from 95 yards. On Sunday, he did it with the same club from 98 yards. Those two shots made for the 25th and 26th eagles made on the hole in PLAYERS Championship history.
SHOT OF THE DAY III: Paul Goydos' flop-shot hole-out from 32 yards for birdie on No. 10 to grab what was then a three-shot lead.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I don't care who wins this tournament, the wind won. I think it's kicked everybody's butts. I think it's hard for people to understand that are watching outside how difficult the golf course is playing." -- Briny Baird after his even-par 72 on Sunday. He finished solo fourth.
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