Sergio proves he can still win, but he’s also appreciating the journey

SOTOGRANDE, Spain – It was the heat of battle, the second hole of an individual playoff at his favorite course, Valderrama. Sergio Garcia was desperate for a win. But he also wanted to enjoy the moment, no matter the outcome.

So, he turned to his new caddie Neil Wallace as they were walking down the fairway and said, “This is fun, isn’t it?”

A few minutes later, it was even more fun for Garcia, as he parred the 18th hole to beat Anirban Lahiri for the LIV Golf Andalucía title. It’s his first win in 30 regular-season starts since joining the new league as an original member in 2022, and his first victory of any kind since October 2020. He becomes the second-oldest player to win a LIV Golf event; Henrik Stenson was 46 when he won in his LIV Golf debut at Bedminster in 2022.

At age 44, Garcia understands he’s on the back nine of his competitive career. Yes, he remains in world-class form – he’s third in LIV Golf’s season-long individual standings through 10 events and in line for a significant bonus if he maintains or improves on that position after LIV Golf Chicago in September – but he’s also taking time to appreciate the journey.

Until Sunday, that journey in 2024 had consisted of a frustrating string of missed opportunities and close calls.

There was his four-hole playoff loss to Joaquin Niemann at LIV Golf’s season-opener in Mayakoba in near-darkness. Then another two-hole playoff loss to Dean Burmester in Miami. 

Meanwhile, his Fireballs GC had runner-up team finishes in Singapore and Houston, the latter especially disappointing since they entered the final round with a four-stroke lead.

Garcia was also involved in an individual playoff last year, losing to Talor Gooch at Singapore. Despite the sting of those near-victories, he channeled it in a positive direction.

“Obviously we all want to win, and sometimes it doesn't happen, unfortunately, but they're all great weeks, and they're weeks that you can learn a lot from,” the Spanish star said Sunday night at Valderrama. “That's what I try to do.

“Even though when you just finish, it stings and it hurts and it's tough. Then when you settle down and you start thinking about it and all the great things you did throughout the week to give yourself a chance, you realize that it was a great week. Obviously, this week is even better, but they’re all good learning experiences.”

Those experiences extend into the majors.

In May, while attempting to qualify for the U.S. Open, he bogeyed the first playoff hole in a 7-for-6 playoff and was the odd man out. Fortunately, he was able to get into the field at Pinehurst as an alternate; unfortunately, his bid to finish inside the top 10 and earn a spot in next year’s field came up just short, as he tied for 12th.

And then two weeks ago, Garcia went through 36-hole final qualifying for The Open Championship. Desperately wanting to earn a spot to make his 100th career start in a major, he came up two strokes short. That’s why he’s not in Royal Troon this week; his 100th major start will now be next year’s Masters, which he won in 2017 to earn a lifetime exemption.

From the 1999 Open to the 2023 Masters, Garcia played in every major except the 2020 Masters, when he tested positive for Covid-19. He never really had to worry about exemptions. But now that there are no guarantees, he has a much more appreciative viewpoint.

“Even though you realize that the majors are super important and it's what we love to play, when you get the chance to play in so many in a row, you start forgetting how difficult it actually is to make it into those majors,” he said. “This last year and a half or so, I've realized how difficult it is playing qualifiers and stuff like that. One day you hit two bad shots and you're out.

“It's given me definitely a different perspective on the majors, on how much they mean, on how much harder I'm trying when I'm playing them … I know even more how hard it is and how important the majors are, and I still want to play as many as I can.

“Hopefully things get better, and we start getting spots coming into some of the majors, but if not, I'll just keep playing qualifiers until my body says enough is enough, I guess.”

By the look of things at Valderrama, Garcia’s body has plenty of fuel left. He said he’s practicing more than he ever has, realizing that if he doesn’t, he’ll get left behind by the quality of the LIV Golf fields.

He has two young Spanish teammates in 22-year-old David Puig and 24-year-old Eugenio Chacarra, and he wants to mentor them as they carve out their own paths.

And while he’s no longer that 19-year-old kid scissor-kicking down the fairway at the 1999 PGA Championship – although there are Fireballs t-shirts with that image on it – Garcia now finds his own ways to enjoy the game. On Sunday at Valderrama, he couldn’t ask for anything more.