Sergio Garcia Hopes Class is Permanent

Sergio Garcia has blamed the break-up of his relationship with Greg Norman’s daughter, plus general fatigue and badly-timed injuries as the reasons why he remains in the midst of an incredible slump in form he hopes will finally end at St Andrews the Open this week.�

The 30-year-old Spanish golfing superstar is into his 20th month of poor form since he won the HSBC Champions trophy in November, 2008, the first tournament, oddly, of the 2009 season.

This victory followed on from a tied second in the US PGA and wins in the Players Championship on the PGA Tour, and at the Castello Masters in Spain on the European Tour.

The HSBC Champions title, won in Shanghai, saw Garcia not only become the highest paid golfer of the year in earnings ($6,979,960) but jump ahead of Phil Mickelsen into second in the world rankings.

It seemed that at long last the man they call “El Nino” was about to mount his strongest challenge yet on Tiger Woods’ domination in the world rankings, and on a Grand Slam title he craved so much for.

Now, however, while Woods’ career and personal life appears to be in tatters Garcia finds himself languishing at number 41 in the world rankings, finishing 74th in the PGA Tour money list last year, lying 67th so far this year, and with just one top ten finish in 11 tournaments.

The reasons for Garcia’s depressing decline are obvious to the Spaniard. “First, I’m tired,” he explains. “I’ve been playing at a high level for a long time now with next to no break in ten years and a great deal of travelling. When it’s not going well you get even more tired. I was beginning to start playing well again at the end of last year when I injured my hand and that was very bad timing for me. It stopped a momentum that was beginning to build. The break up of a relationship I was in at the time hit me hard as well. It hurt for a while and it took a good while to get over it.”

That was in March last year with Norman’s daughter, Morgan Leigh, who Garcia professes to be the first girl he “had ever really been in love with,” and it took its toil on his golf. “Well, I was pretty low after the relationship ended and when things are not right in your head, or at home, then it’s pretty hard to play good golf.”

It is why he can understand his former great rival, Woods, as the American struggles to recapture former greatness. “Tiger wouldn’t be human if everything that’s happened to him and continues to happen hasn’t affected him,” Garcia concedes. “It’s been a very difficult time for him, quite obviously, and he wasn’t close to being at his best during the US Open last month.

“It helps, as I’ve found out, if you get your personal life sorted. If you are happy in life it can only help your golf, and visa-versa. We all expect Tiger to come back at some point. We know how good he is. There’s been an opportunity to capitalise on Tiger’s loss of form. The field’s been opened up. Unfortunately I’ve not been good enough to take advantage.”

The battle with cancer his friend and compatriot Seve Ballesteros is currently undergoing has placed some perspective into Garcia’s anguish, but he is still far from content with his lot right now.

“I’m not happy about my form one bit,” he adds. “When you’ve been at the level I’ve reached the last year or so has been very disappointing. I’ve had some ups and downs before, but this is by far the biggest down.

“I haven’t been beating myself up every day about it because it is not life or death and there are more important things to worry about. When you see how Seve has been fighting his illness every day for so long and so bravely then you can put things into perspective, but I have doubted myself quite a few times over the past few months, for sure.”

Garcia hopes that his luck will change at The Open, his “favourite” tournament, despite that harrowing loss two years’ ago at Carnoustie when he entered the final day leading second placed Steve Stricker by three shots, and the rest of the field by six. Despite a poor final round he still had a four foot�� putt to win the Jug but lipped the hole, enabling Padraig Harrington to beat him in the resulting play-off.

“I’d worked so hard to win that tournament in 2007 and I’d been on it all week, but that’s golf. I try not to think about that putt too often because there’s little point re-living it and torturing myself. I gave it my best shot but it wasn’t meant to happen for me. At least it proves I’m good enough to win the Open and I’ll be using it as a positive when I go to St Andrews. I haven’t played there as much as I would have liked, but where better a place in the world to get back to your best than the home of golf? I’m very motivated.”

One interested observer will be European Ryder Cup team captain Colin Montgomerie, who has professed his desire to have Garcia in his side for Celtic Manor in October pretty much regardless of his form. This is down to Garcia taking over the Ballesteros role as the heart and soul of the European team, having featured in five straight Ryder Cups since his debut, aged 20, in 1999, winning three trophies and sporting an enviable record of 14-3-3.

Garcia is desperate to play again and hopes his form picks up enough to make Montgomerie’s decision easier, although he also argues that he can bring more to the European party than simply winning points.

“I’d like to reach a level of form to justify my inclusion in the team and that’s another motivating reason to start improving very quickly. I love the Ryder Cup and I’ve always enjoyed it. I’d be desperately disappointed not to make the team, but I’d have to deserve it.

“I’ll be looking to sit down with Colin Montgomerie and try and figure out the best way to go with my role at the Ryder Cup. I’m interested to know his thoughts. I think he sees extra aspects I can bring to the team over and above my own play. Certainly, within a team environment, I like to think I can bring a lot of things to the event.

“The best way forward, though, is to start playing like people know I can. I know I am very close to it and the line between top ten places and around the cut is very fine. St Andrew’s would be a fantastic place to get going again and I will go to Scotland with the words that so many people keep on telling me: form is temporary, class is permanent.”

Of that there is no doubt, but Garcia must ensure that his temporary poor form does not become permanent.��
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Sergio Garcia was speaking at the launch of the adidas Golf “Wear in the World” adventure. The golf challenge will take two candidates to nine countries on three continents to play some of the most extreme courses in the world for a chance to win a job at TaylorMade-adidas Golf. Follow their progress in the ultimate job interview at www.adidasgolf.com/wearintheworld

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