There seemed to be no limits for Sergio Garcia and the “Sergio Tree” in 1999.
Medinah No. 3’s most famous red oak and Garcia were linked forever in golf lore that August. Battling Tiger Woods down the stretch at the PGA Championship, Garcia’s drive on 16 landed at the base of the trunk.
Instead of chipping out, Garcia risked life and limb (his, not the tree’s) by going for the miracle shot.
“If he doesn’t pull it off, there’s going to be a lot of firewood here in Chicago,” CBS’ Gary McCord said.
With his eyes shut, Garcia took a desperate slash. Somehow, the clubface cleanly hit the ball at the base rather than the base of the tree.
Garcia quickly dashed down the fairway to see his shot. Trying to get a better angle at the uphill green, he leaped, kicking out his legs. He floated in the air, like a golf Peter Pan, capturing the joy of the moment.
Miraculously, the ball found the green and Garcia then almost made a 35-footer for an all-time improbable birdie.
The Medinah gallery swooned. Even though Woods went on to win the tournament, the 19-year-old from Spain stole the show.
It seemed to be the start of a new era in golf.
“If we really do have the great rivalry unfolding, we can always remember where it really started,” CBS’ Jim Nantz said during the telecast.
Now, seven years later, Garcia and the tree will be reunited for the PGA Championship this week at Medinah. However, the futures for both seem more limited than they were in 1999.
As he did back then, Garcia–and everyone else–will be chasing Woods in the year’s final major. The world’s No. 1 player has won nine majors since the 1999 PGA, including the British Open last month.
The 156-player field will encounter a course stretched to 7,561 yards, the longest in major history, as part of architect Rees Jones’ huge renovation. The biggest change is on the 17th hole, where the green now will be up against Lake Kadijah.
The “Sergio Tree” remains, despite a published report that it is dying. According to Art Frigo, the tournament chairman, the red oak still has some years left.
“But it is showing signs of age,” said Frigo, noting it has lost some branches.
Garcia has plenty of golf years left in him. But at 26, he no longer arrives at Medinah as the prodigy “El Nino.”Rather, he is a veteran criticized for not meeting his potential.
Garcia, ranked ninth in the world, currently holds the dreaded title of the “best player never to win a major.” His inability to deliver in a big tournament was hammered home again at the British Open. Trailing Woods by a shot entering the final round, putting quickly knocked him out contention. He’s now 0-for-32 in majors.
Impressive resume
But Garcia points to what he has accomplished: six PGA Tour victories, six European Tour wins and three appearances on the European Ryder Cup team.
“Definitely, I’m happy the way things have gone,” Garcia said. “If you go around and ask young guys 26 or 27, `Would you like to have Sergio’s career?’, I don’t think many will say no. I would love to do better. But I’m not the only one playing. It’s not that easy.”
Garcia hopes to rekindle some of the old magic at Medinah. He plans to take a look at his tree, but don’t expect him to drop a ball there.
“No,” said Garcia when asked if he would try the shot again in a practice round. “I did it because I was in a tournament. Maybe in the first or second round, I wouldn’t have tried it. At that moment, I was coming back. It was risky. A lot of things could have gone wrong there. I could have hit the tree with the club. The ball could have hit me.”
Countless Medinah members and guests have found that out the hard way. Many amateurs feel compelled to try the shot.
“It’s a fearful shot,” Frigo said. “You see a lot of wimpy swings. Their subconscious thinks, `This is beyond impossible.’ To think that he reached the green is unbelievable.”
The tree has become a legend at Medinah. Superintendent Tom Lively says his crew puts down sod around the tree at least twice a year. Many times, members point guests to a different tree in an effort to protect the real one.
One thing Medinah didn’t do was put a plaque there to signify the shot.
“If Sergio had gone on to win, I’m sure we would have done something,” Frigo said. “But since he didn’t win, there never was a strong sentiment to do it.”
But Garcia has a wish if the tree ever does come down.
“I hope they put a plaque there to remember the moment,” Garcia said.
The tournament felt like a victory for Garcia at the time. He first captivated the crowd with a birdie at the par-3 13th. When the putt fell, he shot a glance at Woods, who was standing on the tee, as if to say: Game on.
The tree shot followed soon after. Garcia’s reaction became the lasting image of the tournament.
“People started to like me,” he said. “They liked the way I was. The way I am. The way I reacted. It was quite an experience.”
Garcia pushed Woods to the limit that day, but a rivalry never materialized.
Since then, Garcia has wilted in head-to-head confrontations with Woods. Playing in the last group with Woods in the final round of the 2002 U.S. Open, Garcia shot a 74 to finish fourth.
At this year’s Buick Invitational, Garcia stumbled in with a 75 in a final Sunday pairing with Woods and dropped to eighth. Then there was Royal Liverpool, where, clad in canary yellow from head to toe, Garcia shot a 73 to finish fifth.
The putter has been his fatal flaw. In the British Open, he missed short par putts on 2 and 3 that basically ended his chances. The statistics tell the sad story. Before this week’s tournament, he averaged 29.86 putts per round, ranking 178th on the PGA Tour.
With his ball-striking ability, Garcia could be deadly if he sank more putts. Last year, he ranked first in greens in regulation on the PGA Tour but 190th putting.
“He’s one of the best ball-strikers in the game,” NBC analyst Johnny Miller said. “He’s right there with Tiger and [Vijay Singh]. You can be the best ball-striker in the world, but the putter is where you’re going to eventually prevail. He has to be tour average, and he’s not.”
Luke Donald, Garcia’s Ryder Cup teammate, knows Garcia wants to improve on the greens.
“The putting has held him back the last two years,” Donald said. “It has weighed on his results, the way he’s feeling. He wants to become a lot better.”
It isn’t easy. He often tinkers in the search to find the right formula. Before the final round of the Scottish Open, he went to left-hand low, a grip he kept for the British Open.
“I’m going with what gets the ball in the hole,” Garcia said. “I want to feel comfortable down there. Sometimes left-hand low, sometimes not.”
Miller can relate to the frustration. He had his own troubles with a twitchy putter.
“You start missing those 6-footers, and it drives you crazy,” Miller said. “It’s demoralizing. It is one of the reasons I left the tour. I wasn’t making anything outside 5 feet.”
Garcia, though, is far from that point. He says he always has been a streak putter. He admits he has some doubts, that the problem might be mental. But he adds he is no different than anyone else in that department.
“I’m trying to improve it,” Garcia said. “It’s not as simple as some people might think. You work hard on whatever you think is right. Whatever gives you confidence. We all have doubts week to week.”
A breakout week
Garcia could erase those doubts with a big week at the PGA. Donald thinks Garcia–like Phil Mickelson, who won his first major at the 2004 Masters in his 47th try–needs that one breakthrough to remove the pressure.
Returning to Medinah will help. Garcia said the course is always in the back of his mind.
“I’ll be excited,” Garcia said. “It can’t be any other way. It’ll be nice to see everything again. When I walk on the practice round, I’ll think of some of the shots I hit.”
Since 1999, Garcia has made millions and become an international star, if not a superstar. He is one of the world’s most eligible bachelors and once was linked to tennis star Martina Hingis.
Garcia seemingly has everything, with that one exception: a major title. He says he doesn’t feel urgency to fill the void.
“Not at all,” Garcia said. “I’m not worried at all. I just want to enjoy the game and play golf. I have a nice life. I enjoy life. If down the road, I have to choose, would you rather win five or six majors and be miserable, or win one or none and have a great life, I’d rather take that.”
That’s a familiar refrain from players who haven’t won the big one. Ultimately, Garcia hopes to be remembered for more than once hitting a great shot from behind a tree.
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Best players never to win a major
Besides Sergio Garcia, there are other established players who hope to get off the list at the PGA Championship.
Colin Montgomerie (15th in world rankings): Alas, poor Monty. It looked like he would shed the dreaded label at this year’s U.S. Open. Instead, his flameout at Winged Foot’s 18th hole may wind up as the lasting image of his inability to deliver the goods. At 43, Montgomerie believes he still has 20 good majors left in him, but that seems overly optimistic.
Chris DiMarco (13th): DiMarco was runner-up in three of the last eight majors. His gritty play at the British Open, where he finished second, earned him a lot of respect. DiMarco gladly would trade some of that admiration for a major title.
Padraig Harrington (17th): His collapse at Winged Foot wasn’t as well-documented as Montgomerie’s and Phil Mickelson’s, but bogeys on the last three holes dropped him out of contention. The native of Ireland has four top-five finishes in majors. But at 34, he hasn’t figured out how to get over the top in the big tournaments.
Adam Scott (sixth): Like Garcia, he’s 26 and full of potential. Unlike Garcia, he got off to a tardy start. He didn’t play all four majors until the 2002 season. That gave Scott a bit of a grace period. But with his high spot in the world rankings, the expectations are growing for him to produce in a major.
Chad Campbell (21st): Campbell nearly exited this club in 2003 when he finished second at the PGA. Since then his record in majors has been spotty. Although he finished third in the Masters this year, he has missed the cut in five of the last 11 majors, including this year’s U.S. Open. You have to play weekends to win the big ones.
Luke Donald (11th): It might be too early to put him on the list. He first played in all four majors in 2005. However, a tie for third at the 2005 Masters dramatically raised his status. Ranked fifth on the tour in scoring average, the former Northwestern star toils under increased expectations.
Ed Sherman
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esherman@tribune.com
