Sergio Garcia tugged the lapel of his green jacket with both hands, proud of his prize and how he earned it.
His hopes were fading Sunday in the Masters — two shots behind with six holes to play — when his tee shot bounced off a tree and into an azalea bush, the kind of bad luck he had come to expect in the majors. Instead of pouting, he figured out how to make par.
Five feet away from winning, his birdie putt peeled off to the right. Usually resigned to fail, Garcia proved to be more resilient than ever.
He was a new man with a new title: Masters champion.Major champion.
After nearly two decades of heartache in the tournaments that define careers, Garcia finally showed the mettle to win a major.
He overcame a two-shot deficit against Justin Rose and won on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.
No one ever played more majors as a pro (70) before winning one for the first time.
Garcia had two big moments on the par 5s — one a par, the other an eagle — in closing with a 3-under 69. 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 the Spaniard two putts from 12 feet for the victory, and his putt swirled into the cup for a birdie.