Augusta, Ga. — At half-past 7, with the sun fading and jubilant fans chanting Ole ole ole ole, a tournament official told Sergio Garcia: “We’re heading to Butler.”
Have sweeter words ever been uttered at Augusta National?
Butler Cabin is where players go to join golf’s greatest club.
After slipping on a green jacket, the new Masters champion said, “It’s been such a long time coming.”
A prodigy in Spain, Garcia was a scratch golfer at 13. He played in the British Open at 16.
At 19 he scissor-kicked onto the American scene with an impossible, eyes-closed slash from the trunk of a tree to the right of Medinah’s 16th fairway. Such joy.
Advertisement
Now 37, with a receding hairline and salt-and-pepper scruff, Garcia finally is a major champion. Took him 74 tries. He beat Northwestern by five.
Asked about shedding the label as the best player without a major, Garcia replied: “The way I looked at it, at least ‘best player’ was there. Now I don’t have to answer that. Now maybe I’m the best player to win only one major.”
He smiled.
“I can live with that.”
So can everyone else. Garcia is a popular champion. As he knifed through the gallery from the ninth green to 10th tee Sunday, a 13-year-old boy hollered: “Vamos, Señor Garcia!”
Advertisement
A young Spaniard?
“No, I’m from Atlanta but speak some Spanish,” said Jackson Nicholson.
Said Justin Rose, whom Garcia defeated on the first playoff hole: “If there’s anyone to lose to, it would be Sergio. He has had his fair share of heartbreak.”
PGA Tour veteran Brandt Snedeker called Garcia “probably one of the most caring, fun, funny people around — when he’s not in between the ropes. And even in between the ropes he’s great — when it’s not a major. When it’s a major, he kind of gets uptight and gets in his own way.
“I feel like the game of golf will be in a better place if he wins a major instead of the other way around. He deserves to win. He is so exceptional at hitting a golf ball. His ball makes a different sound than anybody out here.”
Advertisement
That sweet sound contrasted with all the rubbish that has tumbled from his lips over the years.
In 2009 he whined about Augusta National, saying, “I don’t like it, to tell you the truth. I don’t think it’s fair, and it’s just too tricky. Even when it’s dry, you still get mud balls in the middle of the fairway. ... They can do whatever. It is not my problem. I just come here, play golf and go home.”
He complained about bad breaks and verbally sparred with Tiger Woods, a spat that turned ugly when Garcia made a dumb “fried chicken” joke at an awards banquet in 2013. He apologized within hours.
Garcia remains an interesting study, a self-described “hardheaded man.”
While he expressed joy regarding his breakthrough victory, he also said, “To be brutally honest, I don’t feel any different. I’m obviously thrilled with what happened here today, but I’m still the same guy, the same goofy guy … I have a beautiful life, major or no major.”
1/53
Sergio Garcia of Spain celebrates after winning the Masters golf tournament in a playoff on Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
2/53
Sergio Garcia is greeted by fiancee Angela Akins after winning the Masters in a playoff.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
3/53
Justin Rose, left, congratulates Sergio Garcia on the 18th green after Garcia won the Masters on the first playoff hole.
(Matt Slocum / Associated Press)
4/53
Danny Willett, left, the 2016 Masters champion, congratulates Sergio Garciaduring the green jacket ceremony at Augusta National Golf Club.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
5/53
Sergio Garcia get help putting on the Masters champion’s green jacket by 2016 winner Danny Willett.
(Andrew Redington / Getty Images)
6/53
Sergio Garcia admires the winner’s trophy during the awards ceremony following his victory at the Masters.
(David Goldman / Associated Press)
7/53
Sergio Garcia reacts after making an eagle putt in front of Justin Rose at No. 15e during the final round of the Master.
(David Goldman / Associated Press)
8/53
Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia walk over the Hogan Bridge at No. 12 with their caddies Mark Fulcher and Glen Murray during the final round of the Masters tournament.
(Andrew Redington / Getty Images)
9/53
Justin Rose of England reacts to a putt for birdie on the sixth hole during the final round of the Masters.
(Rob Carr / Getty Images)
10/53
Rickie Fowler reacts after a drive on the fourth hole during the final round of the Masters tournament.
(David Goldman / Associated Press)
11/53
Sergio Garcia of Spain hits a drive on the fourth hole during the final round of the Masters.
(David Goldman / Associated Press)
12/53
Justin Rose of England plays his shot from the third tee during the final round of the Masters.
(Andrew Redington / Getty Images)
13/53
Paul Casey of England plays his second shot on the first hole during the final round of the Masters tournament.
(David Cannon / Getty Images)
14/53
Jordan Spieth plays his third shot from a bunker at No. 10 during the final round of the Masters tournament.
(David Cannon / Getty Images)
15/53
Adam Scott of Australia hits his tee shot at No. 4 during the final round of the Masters.
(David Goldman / Associated Press)
16/53
Jimmy Walker reacts to his missed birdie putt on the sixth hole during the final round of the Masters tournament.
(Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
17/53
Sergio Garcia hits from a bunker alongside the seventh green during the final round of the Masters tournament.
(Chris Carlson / Associated Press)
18/53
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland lets go of his club on the follow through of his tee shot at No. 4 during the final round of the Masters tournament.
(David Goldman / Associated Press)
19/53
Justin Rose hits his tee shot at No. 2 during the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club.
(David Cannon / Getty Images)
20/53
Rickie Fowler lines up his putt with caddie Joseph Skovron at No. 8 during the third round of the Masters tournament on Saturday at Augusta National Golf Club.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
21/53
Sergio Garcia celebrates after making a birdie putt at No. 6 during the third round of the Masters tournament.
(David Cannon / Getty Images)
22/53
Charley Hoffman hits his tee shot at No. 4 during the third round of the Masters tournament.
(Erik S. Lesser / EPA)
23/53
Jon Rahm reacts after missing his birdie putt on the 17th hole during the third round of the Masters.
(Chris Carlson / Associated Press)
24/53
Jordan Spieth hits his tee shot on the 12th hole during the third round of the Masters tournament.
(Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
25/53
Justin Rose makes his club selection at the second tee box during the third round of the 2017 Masters
(Andrew Redington / Getty Images)
26/53
Sergio Garcia reacts to a missed putt at No. 12 during the third round of the Masters tournament.
(Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
27/53
Ryan Moore plays a shot from a greenside bunker at No. 10 during the third round of the Masters.
(Andrew Gombert / EPA)
28/53
Fred Couples olines up a putt on the 16th green during the third round of the Masters.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
29/53
Will McGirt watches his bunker shot roll toward the hole on the 17th green during the third round of the Masters.
(Chris Carlson / Associated Press)
30/53
Sergio Garcia pitches a shot onto the 13th green during the third round of the Masters tournament.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
31/53
Jason Day on the second tee during the third round of the 2017 Masters tournament.
(Andrew Redington / Getty Images)
32/53
Phil Mickelson plays his second shot from a bunker at the 12th hole during the third round of the Masters.
(David Cannon / Getty Images)
33/53
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Jon Rahm of Spain walk over the Hogan Bridge at No. 12 at Augusta National Golf Club during the second round.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
34/53
Jason Day of Australia plays a shot from a greenside bunker at the 16th hole during the second round of the Masters.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
35/53
Matt Kuchar and caddie John Wood head toward the second green, where the flagstick is bowed by the wind, during the second round of the Masters.
(Andrew Redington / Getty Images)
36/53
Fans get a close-up view of Charley Hoffman hitting an approach shot during the second round of the Masters tournament.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
37/53
Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello looks at his ball in the pine straw at the 14th hole during the second round of the Masters tournament.
(David Cannon / Getty Images)
38/53
Si Woo Kim of South Korea plays his third shot at No. 15 during the second round of the Masters tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
39/53
Fred Couples reacts to his birdie putt on the 13th hole during the second round of the Masters.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
40/53
Rickie Fowler plays his tee shot at No. 12 during the second round of the Masters tournament.
(Rob Carr / Getty Images)
41/53
Charley Hoffman hits a drive on the 18th hole during the first round for the Masters golf tournament.
(Chris Carlson / Associated Press)
42/53
Will McGirt hits a drive on the eighth hole during the second round of the Masters golf tournament.
(Matt Slocum / Associated Press)
43/53
Charley Hoffman looks at his approach on the 15th hole during the first round for the Masters golf tournament .
(Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
44/53
Justin Rose of England plays his second shot on the 17th hole during the second round of the Masters tournament.
(David Cannon / Getty Images)
45/53
Charley Hoffman hits a tee shot on the 15th hole during the first round of the Masters tournament on Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club. Hoffman shot a 65 to take a four-shot lead.
(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)
46/53
Pat Perez reacts after missing a putt at No. 16 during the first round of the Masters golf tournament on Thursday.
(Matt Slocum / AP)
47/53
Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Billy Payne, right, leads a moment of silence for Arnold Palmer at the start of the Masters Tournament on Thursday.
(Curtis Compton / Associated Press)
48/53
Jason Day plays his shot from the third tee during the first round of the 2017 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
(Rob Carr / Getty Images)
49/53
Dustin Johnson walks off after announcing his withdrawal during the first round of the 2017 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
(Rob Carr / Getty Images)
50/53
Thomas Pieters of Belgium hits a shot through the trees at the 17th hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)
51/53
Caddie Jamie Lane lines up a putt on the second green during the first round of the 2017 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
52/53
Brendan Steele walks up the second fairway during the first round of the Masters golf tournament on Thursday.
(Chris Carlson / Associated Press)
53/53
American Dustin Johnson walks out of the Augusta National clubhouse after withdrawing from the Masters golf tournament because of a back injury before his afternoon tee time Thursday.
(Tannen Maury / EPA)
And asked if he might wear the green jacket during his upcoming nuptials, he expressed a twinge of discomfort: “This one is a little bit too big.”
Advertisement
What fit just right was that Garcia won the Masters on what would have been the 60th birthday of Seve Ballesteros, who died in 2011 from brain cancer. He and Jose Maria Olazabal are Garcia’s idols.
“I’m sure (Ballesteros) helped a little bit with some of those shots, some of those putts,” said Garcia, whose final stroke from 12 feet on No. 18 caught juuuuuust enough of the left edge to go down, a birdie when a par would have sufficed.
Garcia embraced Rose and went to his knees to pound the Augusta National turf. He kissed fiancee Angela Akins and they walked to Butler Cabin arm in arm, in triumph.
