Sergio Garcia Wins Sanderson Farms Championship, Ending Yearlong PGA Tour Title Drought

Sergio Garcia is flying high like a bird(ie)

The 40-year-old Spanish professional golfer, who’d gone a little more than a year without a victory, has won the Sanderson Farms Championship with an 8-iron to 30 inches for birdie on the final hole.

Sergio Garcia

“The perfect ending for an amazing week,” Garcia said.

Garcia, who’d failed to make the FedEx Cup playoffs and fell out of the top 50 in the world for the first time since 2011, hit a 5-wood that barely cleared a bunker and set up an eagle putt from just inside 4 feet to tie for the lead, before hitting the birdie for the win.

Peter Malnati, whose lone PGA Tour victory was at the Country Club of Jackson five years ago, rallied from five shots behind with a career-best 63, punctuated by a 30-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole.

That set the target, and Garcia needed his two big shots to catch and then beat him. The 5-wood from 260 yards on the 14th hole hit the top collar of the bunker, hopped onto the fringe and rolled out close to the hole.

But it was the 482-yard closing hole into the wind that made him proud.

“I stood up on 18 and I did what I’ve been doing all week. I trusted myself,” Garcia said. “I aimed down the right side of the fairway and just hit a hard draw — really, really nice drive — and it gave me the ability to have an 8-iron into the green instead of having a 6 or something like that.”

It was his first PGA Tour victory since he won the Masters in 2017 with a back-nine rally highlighted by an 8-iron that glanced off the pin on the 15th and set up eagle. He eventually beat Justin Rose in a playoff.

“This time it was an 8-iron on 18, and to almost hit the pain again and hit it close, it was a dream come true,” he said.

Garcia now has won at least once worldwide in each of his last 10 years, a streak he shares with Rose. He won for the 11th time on the PGA Tour, and the 31st time worldwide.

He finished at 19-under 269 and moves to No. 38 in the world.

Garcia heads for Las Vegas, with the Masters just over a month away.

“A boost of confidence, there’s no doubt,” Garcia said. “Every time you play well, even if I would have not won it, it still would have been a massive high for me this week. To be able to do a lot of the things that I did, it meant a lot. It showed me a lot of what I still have and what I still can do.”

Camila Cabello Launches “Priceless Experiences at Home” Concert Series

Camila Cabello is offering fans apricelessjam session…

The 23-year-old Mexican & Cuban singer and former Fifth Harmony member has partnered with Mastercard for a special two-part “Priceless Experiences at Home” series.

Camila Cabello

Cabello revealed earlier this week that she’d spent the past couple weeks working on a “jam session” for her fans.

Working in collaboration with Mastercard, Camila said she’s getting ready to bring “u a mini concert series, inspired to invoke a sense of nostalgia for you guys & me.” 

The two specials kicked off on Wednesday, May 27, with part two slated for June 3.

According to a release from Mastercard, the intimate, acoustic Cabello shows featuring new versions of her biggest songs are part of the company’s ongoing global Digital Priceless Experiences series, which create unique at-home experiences during a time when we are unable to enjoy them in person. 

Among the other experiences available are a visit to Spain’s Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza to learn the stories behind its masterpieces, lessons on how to throw the ultimate online party from sommelier Belinda Chang and golf tips from Ian PoulterJustin Rose and Annika Sorenstam, among others.

In the promo video, she sings a medley of “Should’ve Said It” and “Havana.”

Following Dramatic Playoff, Garcia Wins First Major Title at The Masters

Sergio Garcia is seeing green… Finally!

The 37-year-old Spanish golfer finally proved he can win a major, and he now has the iconic green jacket to prove it.

Sergio Garcia

Needing his best golf on just about every shot in the final hour at The Masters, Garcia overcame a two-shot deficit with six holes left to play and beat Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff Sunday for his first major after nearly two decades of heartache.

No one ever played more majors as a pro — 70 — before winning one for the first time.

Garcia was able to get rid of the demons and the doubts with two big moments on the par 5s — one a par, the other an eagle — in closing with a 3-under 69. It was never easy until the end, when Rose sent his drive into the trees on the 18th hole in the playoff, punched out and failed to save par from 15 feet.

That gave Garcia two putts from 12 feet for the victory, and his putt swirled into the cup for a birdie. He crouched in disbelief, and shouted above the loudest roar of the day.

Sergio Garcia

Rose, who also closed with a 69, lovingly patted Garcia’s cheek before they embraced. Rose then tapped Garcia on the heart, which turned out to be a lot bigger than anyone realized.

“Ser-gee-oh! Ser-gee-oh!” the delirious gallery chanted to Garcia, who couldn’t contain his emotion.

Garcia turned with his arms to his side, blew a kiss to the crowd and then crouched again and slammed his fist into the turf of the green.

All that Spanish passion was on display, raw as ever, this time sheer joy.

Garcia became the third Spaniard in a green jacket, winning on what would have been the 60th birthday of the late Seve Ballesteros. And it was Jose Maria Olazabal, who won the Masters in 1994 and 1999, who sent him a text on the eve of the Masters telling Garcia to believe and “to not let things get to me like I’ve done in the past.”

He didn’t get down after missing a 6-foot putt on the 16th hole, or missing a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole in regulation.

His chin was up and he battled to the end.

“If there’s anyone to lose to, it’s Sergio. He deserves it,” Rose said. “He’s had his fair share of heartbreak.”

This was shaping up as another, especially after Garcia watched a three-shot lead disappear as quickly as it took Rose to run off three straight birdies on the front nine.

Tied going to the back nine, Garcia immediately fell two shots behind with wild shots into the pine straw bed under the trees. Rose was poised to deliver a knockout on the par-5 13th when Garcia went left beyond the creek and into a bush. He had to take a penalty shot to get out and hit his third shot 89 yards short of the green. Rose was just over the back of the green in two, on the verge of turning a two-shot lead into four.

Everyone figured this was coming, right? Garcia himself had said, in a moment of self-pity, that he didn’t have what it takes to win a major. Four times he was runner-up. This was his third time playing in the final group.

But right when it looked to be over, momentum shifted to Garcia.

He hit wedge to 7 feet and escaped with par. Rose rolled his chip down to 5 feet and missed the birdie putt. The lead stayed at two shots but not for long. Garcia birdied the 14th. His 8-iron into the par-5 15th landed inches in front of the hole and nicked the pin, and he holed the 14-foot eagle putt to tie for the lead.

Rose took the lead with an 8-foot birdie on the 16th and gave it back by missing a 7-foot par putt on the 18th.

Not since 1998 have the last two players on the course gone to the 18th tied for the lead, and both had their chances to win. Rose’s approach hit off the side of the bunker and kicked onto the green, stopping 7 feet away. Garcia answered with a wedge that covered the flag and settled 5 feet away.

Both missed.

The playoff didn’t last long. Rose was in trouble from the start with an errant tee shot, and Garcia didn’t waste the opportunity.

Garcia & Justin Rose Top Leaderboard with One Final Round to Go at The Masters

Sergio Garcia is one day away from snapping his title drought at a major tournament…

The world will be watching Sunday at Augusta National as the 37-year-old Spaniard tries to fend off Masters co-leader Justin Rose, chasers Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth and his own demons to end his 0-for-73 streak in golf’s four most coveted events.

Sergio Garcia

It seems like a century ago that Garcia burst onto the scene as a 19-year-old, battling Tiger Woods shot for shot at the PGA Championship only to fall a stroke short.

He’s had other opportunities at the Masters, the Open Championship, the PGA and U.S. Open. Garcia has finished second in majors four times, placed in the top 10 22 times.

After coming up short in the 2012 Masters, Garcia famously told Spanish reporters he wasn’t good enough to win a major.

He gets the chance to erase his own words on the National’s hallowed grounds in a final round that will certainly not be a day of rest. He and Rose go off in the final group at 2:45 p.m. EDT.

“It was hard but it was fun.” Garcia said Saturday after posting a 2-under-par 70 for a 210 total. “It was fun to play well again, to go through a Saturday at the Masters with a chance at winning, and, you know, to be up there going into tomorrow.”

Garcia looks fit for a green jacket, shaping shots and escaping trouble. He made four birdies and played the back nine two shots under par to set the stage. He and Rose are the only players in the Masters field not to shoot a round over par through 54 holes.

The seemingly star-crossed Garcia even got some fortuitous bounces in Round 3, most notably on the 510-yard, par-5 13th hole. His approach shot wafted weakly over a Rae’s Creek tributary, slid down the hill and miraculously stopped short of the drink. He chipped off the steep bank within a foot, tapped in for birdie and again stands on the brink of a major breakthrough.

“I’ve definitely had some good breaks throughout all three rounds,” Garcia said. “Thirteen was obviously was one of them. I didn’t feel like I hit a bad shot. Obviously I hit a good drive that went into that little first cut of rough, and unfortunately ‑‑ I was hitting plenty of club, but it was one of those things that the ball just came out really soft.  I had enough club to carry on that line, and unfortunately it didn’t.

“But fortunately for me, that bank seems to be a tiny bit longer this year, which is nice.  Because, you know, it gives you the possibility of getting a break like that, and then, you know, I still had to hit a great chip to make 4.  It wasn’t an easy chip.“

Garcia Equals Tiger Woods’ Course Record to Lead at the Bridgestone Invitational

It’s a banner day on the course for Sergio Garcia

The 34-year-old Spanish professional golfer logged the best round of his career on Friday at the Bridgestone Invitational.

Sergio Garcia

Garcia one-putted the final 11 holes and made birdies on his last seven holes to tie the course record at Firestone with a 9-under 61 to take a three-shot lead into the weekend.

He had a birdie putt on every hole on the back nine, missing only a 15-footer from the fringe at No. 11. Garcia shot 27 on the back nine, a course record.

“Just one of those moments that you love and you enjoy, and you wish there were no end,” he said.

Garcia’s feat matched the tournament record held by Tiger Woods, who shot 61 in 2000 and ’13, and Jose Maria Olazabal, who shot his 61 in 1990. Woods went on to win by 11 shots in 2000 and seven shots last year. Olazabal won by 12 in the World Series of Golf.

But Garcia still has his work cut out for him.

He was at 11-under 129, three shots clear of Justin Rose, who had a 67. Open Championship winner Rory McIlroy birdied his last two holes for a 64 and joined Marc Leishman of Australia (67) four shots out of the lead.

Garcia was five shots out of the lead when he had to scramble to save pars on back-to-back holes to close out the front nine on what seemed to be an ordinary round. Two good swings on the 10th hole led to a 20-foot birdie putt. He hit an 8-iron to 2 feet on No. 12 and 3 feet on No. 13 for the easiest birdies he had all day, and those turned out to be the start of his big run.

The Spaniard finished in style, making birdie putts of 15, 25 and 20 feet on his last three holes.

His previous best score was a 62 on three other occasions — as a 19-year-old at the Scottish Open and Byron Nelson Classic in 1999, and at Mount Juliet in 2002 at the American Express Championship.