Frustrated and unhappy, Garcia is trying to fix his game

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Sergio Garcia's frustrations on the course have been evident by his body language.

Another putt burns the edge, another grimace. A shot comes up short, the shoulders slump. An iron gets the whip treatment. A simple ball mark-and-pluck from the green turns into a mark-and-snap -- think emphasis.

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The right hand comes off the club -- again -- almost as soon as the ball leaves the ground. Was it a full-on miss? Or simply another just-not-what-I-expected-to-hit?

Sergio Garcia's body language says it all. He's not happy. Struggling may be too easy a description. More to the point, perhaps, there are times when he feels like he's trudging through mud, not 18 holes on a glorious day.

Even when the putts fall like they did from the eighth hole on Sunday afternoon, there was no discernable smile, let alone a little joy at seeing a birdie putt whirl around the edge of the cup drop in. Another final round flat-lined -- this one by one of those 5-over-after-five-holes starts.

Go time? He wishes.

Those amazing early matches at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship -- the ones that got him to the semifinals -- are forgotten, lost in that 7 and 6 loss to Ian Poulter and the 5 and 4 consolation loss to Camilo Villegas.

Ditto for the No. 2 ranking in the world.

One minute he seemed to be bouncing back, the next, he was slip-sliding down the Official World Golf Ranking at an alarming rate. Fourteen months ago, he was right behind Tiger Woods in the standings. Now he's 30th and wondering if there is even a teeny-tiny safety net to break this freefall.

Those sporadic 69s and 68s have been offset with 76, 77, 78 or, last week, three 73s. His final round average in 2010? A mere 74.13, which ranks him 178th on TOUR. Last year it was four shots better. Putting is more drastic. In 2007, he ranked 15th. Right now, he's 135th.

And his post-round thoughts? They've gone from holding THE PLAYERS crystal and talking first major to "Unfortunately, I left some shots out there, didn't play my best today."

Que pasa Sergio? We miss the can't-miss kid who tilts at windmills and turns Ryder Cup matches into confetti-dropping celebrations. We miss the enthusiasm of that split-legged leap more than a decade ago at Medinah. We miss the bravado and charisma. We miss watching him -- as defending HP Byron Nelson champ in 2005 -- with a group of Dallas kids, laughing at himself doing the chicken dance.

But most of all? Echamos de menos su pasión por el juego. (We miss your passion for the game.)

You were having a blast last month bending it like Beckham on the soccer field. A friendly little match PLAYERS week. You were the star of the players-caddie team. Scored on a free kick and had the harshest critics on the other side shaking their heads. This guy can play. It was fun to watch.

Then came golf. Three decent rounds, then a closing 78. A share of 47th, which was an improvement over T70 at the Zurich Classic. Neither felt good enough.

But it will.

Life -- like the break-up with longtime girlfriend Morgan Leigh Norman -- gets in the way. So do bad swings, close calls at majors -- we don't have to remind anyone do we? -- and lousy finishes.

Just ask Adam Scott. He was right there with you trudging along until Sunday when he found his game and won the Valero Texas Open. He never reached No. 1, mind you, but he fell further.

And, yes, he understands.

Young guys with gray hair, Scott says. Talented thirtysomething players which exquisite games who were expected to win majors and challenge Tiger and Phil Mickelson. Guys who have solid resumes -- and PLAYERS titles -- who have gone head-to-head a lot in their careers; men who suddenly find younger guys with similar games and expectations nipping at their dragging heels.

"We've been pretty lucky, but we've also gone through the low times,'' Scott told Golf.com. "I played with him on Saturday at Augusta, and he obviously was struggling: That was clear. He didn't enjoy himself on the course. I can relate."

Garcia always has been the best blend of countrymen Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal. Yes, majors kept alluding him, but we could point to why. Now we're wondering when he'll contend again.

Putting is always the big problem on TOUR. Scott got hot in that 36-hole San Antonio finale and -- boom. Kind of like that Byron Nelson title a few years ago when that playoff putt -- six feet of break, over the ridge to the top of a hill. Boom.

And while Garcia is struggling there, he's also testing out an interlocking grip -- at least on the range. It feels good there. Keeps his hands "a little more together."

But come tournament time, he goes back to the overlap grip. "Unfortunately, because I've played my whole life with either a 10-finger or an overlap , I don't have enough strength in the three fingers that you use when you interlock it, and it feels quite weak,'' he said. "I think if I manage to work it and it gets to the point where it works really good and I play a couple of tournament rounds and it feels good out there, I might change it because I like the way it feels when I practice with it."

That's what you do when things go south. Tinker. Think it out. Try to find something to set you straight. Anything.

"I'm not going to lie to you," he said at THE PLAYERS. "I'm not having the best time golf-wise. You're never bulletproof. When things are going right on and off the course, everything seems to be fine, but if things aren't, it can play with your head and things get tougher."

And yes, he thinks things are getting close. Just not "close close."

It's still too early for hand-wringing over making the Ryder Cup. It wouldn't be one without him, so if things don't turn way around expect Colin Montgomerie to make sure he's in the fold.

Garcia simply has too much talent not to figure this out. If it's putting, work on it. If it's not making you happy, step away for a few weeks.

His swing coach Pete Cowen suggested the latter in a Daily Express story last week.

"He does not want to be playing golf at the moment. He has been at it since he was 14 and he has had a bellyful of it," Cowen told the paper. "People that good can push themselves into some dark places mentally and I've told Sergio he would be better walking away from the game for a while and clearing his head. People are worried about the Ryder Cup and of course it is important, but I would rather he is happy -- and he hasn't been happy for a while. "

He's not playing this week, although won at Las Colinas in 2004 and has two other top 10s. The year Scott won, he was four back going into the final round. But he followed a third-round 65 with a closing 75.

He's not entered at next week's Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, either, a perfect old-style course where he won his first PGA TOUR event in 2001. He passed up the BMW Championship at Wentworth this week, too, citing high taxes on earnings.

Maybe he's taking Cowen's advice. Maybe he's chilling and watching soccer. Maybe he's out there playing a little soccer himself.

He knows it will turn around. So do his Ryder Cup teammates.

Lee Westwood went from fourth in the world to out of the top 250 to No. 3. It was a long journey, but a brilliant one. So we leave you with his observation.

"I don't analyze other people's games,'' he said. "There are far too many people with opinions. That's the unfortunate thing about opinions sometimes, everybody's got one, so I don't volunteer mine too much.

"But anybody with class, class is permanent and form is temporary. (Garcia's) got a lot of class, and he's just short of a bit of confidence at the moment. But two years ago you saw him win this tournament (PLAYERS), and I'm sure that Sergio Garcia is not far away given a few good rounds under his belt.''

Maybe the next time he tees it up? Maybe not. But sooner or later he'll find it and turn those grimaces back into real smiles. And the pained body language into another happy chicken dance.

Melanie Hauser is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.