After a terrific 4 rounds of golf, The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, came down to a sudden death playoff between Sergio Garcia and Paul Goydos. Both golfers played a great tournament, considering the difficulty of the course, and the gale-force winds they had to contend with. And after 4 rounds of golf, Garcia and Goydos were all even. Thus, a more exciting playoff finishing-hole couldn’t have been better scripted: the par-3 17th island green.

Through the duration of the tournament, the crowd’s energy, and the atmosphere at the 17th hole had more of a football feel, than a golf tournament. Not only were the galleries denser, they were also much rowdier. Every time anyone swung a club, an escalating cheer just erupted, as the ball traveled directly above the lake. It was sink of swing after that, but either result the fans loved it, as their deafening roar would indicate.

No road was louder than when Paul Goydos’ ball couldn’t swim. The big man took a chance, and it proved costly. All Sergio had to do from that point on was play it safe, find land, and the Championship was his.

Garcia took a different approach however; as he aimed it just pass the pin, hoping to catch a downhill slope towards the hole. And what a beauty of a shot it was. The ball landed safely on the green, with just enough English to spin back and catch the incline, indeed a perfect shot… truly picturesque. Garcia went on to two-put to claim the victory.       

What a great way (it was) to finish a tournament of this magnitude… in grand fashion. For Sergio Garcia, it was the perfect time to finally win a big tourney on the Tour after his long, and well-publicized drought (specifically due to his bad putting). Garcia seized the opportunity, and understood it was his time.

On a warm/humid late afternoon Mother’s Day in Florida, The Players Champion Garcia, knew whom to thank first. “First of all,” Garcia said, “I want to thank Tiger for not being here. That always makes things a little bit easier."

---

Be first to comment this article

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.