Hard work gives Garcia his biggest victory

The 28-year-old Spaniard became just the second European to win the PGA TOUR's showcase event as he beat Paul Goydos on the first hole of sudden death, the par-3 17th. The victory was the seventh of his career and the first in 54 starts since his last win in 2005.

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Garcia closed with a 71, one of just eight sub-par scores on a brutally windy day at TPC Sawgrass, to force the playoff. He rolled in a clutch 7-footer for par on the final hole of regulation -- not bad for a man whose putter might as well have been a lightning rod in recent years.

The work Garcia has been doing with short-game guru Stan Utley has clearly paid dividends. What's lost in the conversation, though, is Garcia's prowess tee to green, and he led the deepest field of the year in fairways hit and greens in regulation. No shot was bigger than the sand wedge he nailed to within four feet of the pin on the island green after Goydos found the water.

"I felt so good all week long with all parts of my game," Garcia said. "I feel like I was really coming along, and you know, (I am) just thrilled to be able to be the PLAYERS champ and I'm just going to try to carry it as well as I can. ...

"Not only because of the field, but the course, everything around it, it feels like a major. And it tests you like a major, (but) unfortunately it's not. Maybe sometime in the future, it might be.

"But it definitely feels like it and I'm so thrilled to be here standing with the trophy."

A year ago, Garcia had been in Goydos' position, finishing second to Phil Mickelson. The only other player to finish runner-up in THE PLAYERS one year and win the following year is Tiger Woods in 2000-2001.

"Sergio played better than everybody else, look at the stats," the gracious Goydos said. "I'm glad that that's rewarded."

The victory was worth $1.71 million, 4,950 FedExCup points and a five-year PGA TOUR exemption. More important, though, might be the confidence boost Garcia received with the U.S. Open on the horizon a month down the road.

"I think it's a big jump up for Sergio to win such a big tournament, the fifth major," said Garcia's caddy, Glen Murray. "Mostly, I'm just really happy for him that he's found a bit of confidence in his putting in this, and he's kind of turned the corner.

"I think it's going to stand him in good stead for a long time."

The short term would be even better, though. Garcia plans to play in the Memorial Tournament and Stanford St. Jude Championship leading up to the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in June where he could take another major step in his career.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what the greens are going to be like," said Garcia, who has four top-20s in the U.S. Open. "I think it's just an amazing golf course. I think it's going to be really difficult to beat Tiger there, because, you know, he obviously loves that golf course there, kind of like the same way I feel here.

"But at least I want to at least give it a chance and see if I can challenge him a little bit, and you know, whatever happens, happens."

Garcia has been there before in majors -- starting at Medinah where the 19-year-old took Tiger Woods and scissor-kicked his way to a second-place finish in the 1999 PGA Championship. Most recently, it was at Carnoustie where the Spaniard missed a 10-footer for par on the 72nd hole and went on to lose a playoff to Padraig Harrington.

Sunday's victory at THE PLAYERS Championship reinforces Garcia's belief that he's been working on the right things. He knows when he has confidence in himself -- like he did on the Stadium Course -- he's among the best players in the world.

Now he's just wants to keep the momentum going.

"It's been a lot of work, but like everything when you work hard at it, and you work on the right things, they end up paying off," Garcia said. "I don't want to get stuck here. I want to have a good year and keep giving myself chances of winning more events and having a major if I can. Other than that, it's all great.

Garcia has been playing so long it's hard to believe he's still just 28 -- an "old man," he joked -- and the ninth player in his 20s to win on the PGA TOUR this year. He's certainly got the credentials with 13 top-10s in 37 major championship appearances.

Although he played Sunday with the confidence of a veteran, Garcia thinks he performs best when he can harness the exuberance of his youth. Hit shots, and go find them, just like he did at THE PLAYERS. Shake off the bad breaks, and capitalize on the opportunities that are presented. Just like he did Sunday.

"Sometimes you get a little bit too frustrated with this game," Garcia said. "It's a beautiful game, but it's a really hard one."