Being Sergio Garcia
If you had to sum up Sergio Garcia's career in just a couple of words, it would probably sound something like this -- annoyingly disappointing.
Ever since that incredible showdown with Tiger Woods in 1999, it seems Garcia has been on the losing end of just about everything. He got caught spitting in a cup on camera, and then when asked, made it seem like it was nothing to get worked up about. He lost a British Open because, in his eyes, a bunker wasn't raked fast enough. His constant waggling at the 2002 U.S. Open has basically everyone in the golf world screaming at him to just pull the trigger.
And just when Garcia, who turned 30 last month, looks like he might be maturing, an event occurs like Saturday at the Accenture Match Play. In the midst of his shellacking by eventual champion Ian Poulter, Garcia made it a point, instead of talk about golf or Poulter's play, to focus on something that wasn't much of anything. On the seventh hole, the only one Garcia won against Ian, Poulter was in a bush and took some time to get a ruling on a drop. When told he could take the drop, Poulter decided against it, because he felt the ball would be in a more difficult position. Garcia pulled Poulter aside after the match and told him what he felt about it, and then had this to say to CBS.
After the match, Garcia was asked if he felt Poulter should have played the shot he intended when asking for relief.
"Well, probably," Garcia said. "That's what I would have done after trying to get relief. But he did what he thought was right, and he's the one who has to live with it, so he'll be fine."
It is the smugness of the "he's the one who has to live with it" that is so definitively Sergio. Poulter took some time to get a ruling, decided against it, and ended up losing the hole, and this is what Garcia is frustrated about.
You could tell the entire weekend that the weather was bothering Garcia, and his play showed that, but it would be nice if just once Sergio took the high road.
Video via Wei Under Par.
