Aug8 USPGA Garcia

At last it’s happened. Sergio has put off this first meeting with the press, since Carnoustie whipped his insides out, for long enough. The media have attacked him (sometimes viciously) in the last couple of weeks for whinging and whining like a 12-year-old schoolgirl ever since he lost to Padraig Harrington in a playoff. Now it was time for him to face his persecutors.

He arrived at the Media Centre at Tulsa  (where the final major of the year is about to get underway) at 12 noon on the dot, looking a bit sheepish, a bit like a Christian about to be fed to the lions.

Needless to say, the questions weren’t exactly about Southern Hills. ‘Everyone is wondering how you have managed to handle the disappointment of Carnoustie, and is it something you’ve had trouble with?’ came the first question.

“It wasn’t easy for the first week but I managed to get through it,” he replied, Taylormade cap covering his eyes. “I went to the beach a couple of times. I just tried to get all of the positive things out of it, and there were a lot of positives. I had a lot of nice calls from friends and family. I am just hoping I can give myself as good a chance [of winning] this week, as I did at Carnoustie.”

Asked if he had had any sleepless nights since and if he would have done anything differently, he was succinct, if a touch confused.

“No,” he said, “Well yes. I would have tried to hit that putt on the 18th in regulation a little bit further right. That’s pretty much it.”

Garcia has a pretty good chance this week, if he can just get over the disappointment of a couple of weeks ago. He has a good record in the fourth major of the year, having finished 2nd (behind Tiger) in 1999 and 3rd last year, both times at Medinah.

“I didn’t win the Open,” continued Sergio, “Padraig did. And he deserved it. He played very, very well all week. But I was the only one that had the winning putt in regulation. And to me, you know, that means a lot.

“Overall, it was a great experience to be up in the lead all week long. I think I learned a lot from it. I hit a great putt. Unfortunately, it didn’t go in. I learned how to play within myself all week. I was very confident with myself and with my game. I stuck to my game plan and that’s what got me to a winning position.”

Asked if he regretted any of his comments immediately after the Open, he said: “I was emotional. I opened myself up to you guys and I said what I felt, just like I always am. It’s just a matter of how you take it.”

He didn’t regret going for the green at the last in regulation. “If my 3-iron to the last had been two yards further right, it would have been called the best play ever.” And his father, Victor, had comforted him afterwards. “He said I played well. He almost had tears in his eyes, but he told me, ‘You did all you could’. You did everything right. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to happen.”

The jury is still out on whether Sergio is a winner or a whinger. Supposedly he hadn’t said much at all since the Open until today, preferring to play tennis and football with friends at home. One American journalist did get 30 seconds with him earlier in the week, but Garcia just indicated that he couldn’t understand why the press picked on him so much. ‘Is it because I am Spanish?’ he apparently asked.

One way of getting the press of his back (not to mention a rather large monkey) would be to win this week.