Bright side of life emerging for Sergio Garcia ahead of PGA Championship

As play begins Thursday at Valhalla Golf Club at the season’s final major, the PGA Championship, Sergio Garcia has been designated one of the favourites, behind only the blisteringly hot Rory McIlroy and former world No 1 Adam Scott in terms of popularity.

Sergio Garcia rides with girlfriend Katharina Boehm during a practice round prior to the start of the 96th PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club on Wednesday in Louisville, Kentucky. David Cannon /Show more

After a mere 40 minutes, a certain glittering rock was not all that had gone missing.

Sergio Garcia's comfortable overnight lead, not to mention a massive amount of momentum, had dived into the long grass, too.

Playing in the last group at the Bridgestone Invitational last weekend, Garcia was already in the middle of surrendering a three-shot lead to Rory McIlroy when the Spaniard yanked his shot on the third tee into the gallery.

After rattling around in the trees, the ball struck a woman squarely on the left hand, breaking her wedding ring and dislodging a large diamond, which fell into the ankle-deep grass.

It took only moments before one of the network broadcasters made a crack about the “diamond in the rough”, a characterisation that frequently has applied to Garcia, too. Well, except for a key geological inversion.

Diamonds are forged under extreme heat and pressure. Too often in his career, when facing similar duress, Garcia has turned from a diamond into a lump of coal.

Once again, when staked to a 54-hole lead, Garcia was hardly the hardest substance known to man. McIroy birdied the first three holes to erase the overnight lead of his playing partner, as Garcia finished second for the third time since June.

Wedding rings are hugely symbolic, and so was this particular incident. Garcia asked a tournament marshal to write down the woman’s contact information.

“I was prepared to buy her one,” Garcia said. “I’ll give her a call and make sure that she’s OK.”

By then, his own numbers were not worth remembering: he was in the process of blowing a 54-hole lead in PGA Tour play for the ninth time in 12 career tries.

As play begins Thursday at Valhalla Golf Club at the season’s final major, the PGA Championship, Garcia has been designated one of the favourites, behind only the blisteringly hot McIlroy and former world No 1 Adam Scott in terms of popularity.

It is a sensible notion. Garcia has finished second in three successive PGA Tour-sanctioned events, including the British Open, and absolutely has the game to factor into the Sunday picture at Valhalla, which hosted the 2000 PGA and the 2008 Ryder Cup.

Contending and winning are different matters, though, and it remains difficult to judge whether Garcia, who finally has grown more comfortable in his own skin during the past two years, is getting closer to winning his first major or merely amassing more scar tissue.

As ever with the charismatic, unpredictable golfer, his form is likely to relate as much to his state of mind as any Valhalla design element.

“I’m not going to lie to you,” Garcia said of the venue. “It’s not my favourite golf course in the world.”

Uh-oh. In the first of many PGA Championship disappointments, Garcia finished joint-34th at Valhalla in 2000, 12 months after he burst onto the global golf scene by famously battling Tiger Woods down to the wire at the PGA.

Only 19 at the time, he finished second after a memorable duel with Woods, but their historical arc felt all but ordained and intertwined. The two seemed destined to be friends and, since they are separated by only four years in age, they were poised to dominate the majors for a couple of decades.

Pundits got it one-third right.

Woods has 14 major wins, while Garcia this week is trying to snap an 0-for-64 career mark at the game’s grand slam events, a run that includes four runner-up finishes and 19 top-10s.

Rather than sulk, Garcia shook off last week’s loss to McIlroy with a shrug. At 34 and ranked third in the world, Garcia finally has emerged from an extended, dark funk of self-doubt.

During the past few seasons, it was hard to tell who felt sorrier for the Spaniard – his fans or Garcia himself. Frustrated with the game, he took an extended leave of absence after the 2010 PGA Championship, and fighting similar frustration at the 2012 Masters, conceded that he did not possess what it takes to win a major.

At the former, he had a meltdown on the course, slamming his club to the ground five times, then flinging it towards his bag. ESPN described it as: “Typical Garcia. It’s always somebody [or something] else’s fault.”

Amazingly, a year earlier, Garcia entered 2009 ranked second in the world, his career high-water mark.

In contrast, Garcia in 2014 has never seemed happier, and the new mood is manifested in his game.

His claw putting grip has been a salvation on the greens, he has a new girlfriend and has ditched his persecution complex on the course.

“I think a big thing with Sergio is that emotionally, he’s in a really good place,” McIlroy said.

“I think that’s really helping him on the golf course. He’s in a good place in his life right now, and I’m really happy to see that.

“That’s really coming out in the way he’s playing and his whole demeanour. It’s good to see.

“Sergio playing well is a great thing for golf and hopefully he can continue to do that.”

Garcia’s 9-under 61 last Friday tied the course record at the venerable Firestone Country Club. He shot 27 on the back nine and had 11 one-putt greens entering Sunday’s play. At which point McIlroy, who moved back to world No 1 with the win, birdied the first three holes and erased the lead in 40 minutes.

“He’s good at closing,” network analyst Nick Faldo said of Garcia’s ability to chase. “Unfortunately, with the lead …”

In finishing second in his past three US-sanctioned starts, Garcia has fired 10 rounds in the 60s and he leads the PGA Tour in scoring average at 68.74.

While his 1-over 71 last Sunday was not awful, it matched the worst round of the day by any player finishing in the top 25.

This time, he hugged McIlroy and handled the defeat with aplomb. Clearly, Garcia’s sense of perspective on the course has changed – if only those Sunday results would do likewise.

“I think more than anything, yeah, it’s easy to manage your emotions a little bit better,” Garcia said of his new attitude. “It’s easier to take mistakes in a better way.”

For Garcia, the most coveted bits of silverware may be missing but, thanks to a search party formed by fans on their hands and knees, at least the spectator’s missing diamond was recovered.

There is some solace in never knowing what will come out of the rough.

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