Sergio Garcia is the Masters champion for 2017 and a major champion for the first time in his long, fascinating golf career. Garcia got to put on his green jacket for the first time at a ceremony a few minutes after he beat Justin Rose in a playoff.
Garcia had to sweat for it. He began the day tied with Rose, and the two swapped leads throughout the round. Garcia had an opportunity to win the tournament in 72 holes, but he missed a short birdie look on the 18th green at Augusta National.
“I thought I had it on 18,” he told CBS’ Jim Nantz. “I hit the putt exactly where I wanted. I practiced that putt in a practice round and it broke left. For some reason it didn’t ... I felt today the calmest I ever felt on a major Sunday. Even after making a couple bogeys, I was still positive.”
Garcia stuck to it. He hit solid tee and approach shots on the first playoff hole, while Rose found trouble on the hole immediately. Garcia found himself needing only to two-putt to seal the sudden-death playoff immediately, and he did it.
In addition to a nice jacket, Garcia gets nearly $2 million for his victory.