I'm saying No for the simple reason I said yes the last 3 years and he hasn't produced one. Garcia's biggest problem is closing. He's been in position going into the last day several times (ex. 01 US Open, 03 British, 02 US Open, 01 British, 04 PGA)..but falls apart the last round, much like the Buick last week.
How about a good ole fashioned poll? I threw one on there so we can voice our opinions and form a democratic consensus...although I'm sure there'll be some opinions raised on each side of the issue.
I went with no...his putting under pressure is still not good enough.
I would like to see him get one this year, move him a little closer to the big 5. He is right on Ernies heels right now, and a win in a major would solidify his position in the top 5. He does seem to have a problem of self destructing for stretches during each tourney.
I don't think Sergio will win one this year and probably not in the next five years. I don't think he has the complete game to win a major. Granted there have been guys that put it together for four days and pull off the unthinkable for some reason I don't see that happening with Garcia.
Mentally he doesn't seem to keep it together for the full 72 holes and tends to let a bad shot or two have a bigger impact on his scorecard than it should. I also think he lacks the consistency required to compete at a high level in most major championship course set ups.
I voted NO. It does however look like his game is in top form. Well for 3 days last week anyways. Maybe he was tired from jet lag and it caught up to him on Sunday who knows? What i id know is if he continues to play bad when playing with Tiger or for that matter with the lead hes going to have to deal with that issue when closing a major out. Hes got some scarring hes going to have to heal pretty quickly or it really could be 5 years without a major.
If he does it, it prolly won't be at Augusta. He's not played well there, and it's mostly b/c of his putting. PGA's at Medinah this year, right? Garcia played his best major there a few years back. That's probably his best chance.
I think he will get it in 06'. Hes has a great game. Its just his putting that kills him. If he can get that down along with the rest of his game and be consistant, he'll be winning more than one.
Mentally he doesn't seem to keep it together for the full 72 holes and tends to let a bad shot or two have a bigger impact on his scorecard than it should. I also think he lacks the consistency required to compete at a high level in most major championship course set ups.
I agree with the first assertion. Sergio finds it difficult to let go and forget bad shots. Until he learns to direct 100% of his focus on the next shot he'll continue to come up short in big, big championships.
As for Sergio's consistency, you must remember that Sergio has actually played quite well in a very good percentage of his major championship appearances...especially for a 26 year old.
In 2002, Sergio accomplished something which is generally rare these days. He finished in the top ten in all four majors that year. Only he, plus Tiger, Phil, Vijay and Ernie, have accomplished this feat among today's generation of stars. Furthermore, Sergio contended mightily at last year's U.S. Open at Pinehurst, and added a solid top ten finish at The Open Championship at The Old Course. Sergio definitely has the game, folks. It's his head which will give him fits.
I agree with the first assertion. Sergio finds it difficult to let go and forget bad shots. Until he learns to direct 100% of his focus on the next shot he'll continue to come up short in big, big championships.
I agree, Sergio's still a little immature. However, I think he's got the game to win a major at some point in his career.
Granted there have been guys that put it together for four days and pull off the unthinkable for some reason I don't see that happening with Garcia.
I think the thing with this is if you go into it not expecting to win one, then you can sometimes defer the surprise of being there until after the end of the tournament, by which time you've already won. Sergio expects (fairly enough) to be in contention for these things, so he's always got the pressure on. Makes it much harder to "fluke" those four days and be done with it.
February 4th, 2006, 12:14 AM
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