1. Sergio Garcia finally claims his major
For Garcia, 0-for-73 at majors was more than enough. In probably the most emotional Masters win since Phil Mickelson’s in 2004, Sergio earned his first major.
And make no mistake about it, Garcia did it the hard way.
When he had to take an unplayable lie following an errant tee shot on the 13th hole, it looked like yet another major letdown for Sergio. But he had other ideas, scrapping through to make a par on that hole and playing at three-under over the final five holes.
Even missing a final putt to win on the 72nd hole did nothing to deter Garcia. He came through with a birdie on the first playoff hole to defeat Rose and get a massive monkey off of his back.
The winning putt. #themasters pic.twitter.com/b0lEPfBKxM
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 9, 2017
The fact that he did so on the 60th birthday of the late Spanish golfing legend Seve Ballesteros made his achievement even better.
It may be that a new and improved Sergio didn’t need a major win to be happy in life. But it will certainly be a nice bonus. Never again can anyway say Garcia was a great golfer who couldn’t win the big one. That’s pretty darn significant.