By Dave Cordero, World Golf Hall of Fame
From the moment Sergio Garcia pulled off an unthinkable recovery shot from behind a tree and scissor-kicked his way up the fairway at the 1999 PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club, the golf world was ready to crown its next star. Garcia finished second to Tiger Woods that year, but the global consensus was that the future was bright for the 19-year-old Spaniard whose skills were such that he could follow his fellow countrymen Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal into international stardom.
Over the next 15 years, Sergio earned a reputation as one of the best ball strikers on the TOUR and proceeded to rack up more than 20 wins combined on the PGA TOUR and European Tour. His signature win came at THE PLAYERS Championship in 2008 when he won in a playoff.
A few bad breaks, lip-outs and ricocheted golf balls off flagsticks later, the critics still demanded that Sergio, 37, validate his career with a Major Championship.
If there was ever a Hollywood script to be written, Garcia provided plenty of content Sunday – on what would have been Ballesteros’ 60th birthday – when he emerged victorious from a dramatic sudden death playoff to win the Masters. Finally, El Niño silenced his critics and slipped on what had been a very elusive Green Jacket. The same Green Jacket that Spaniards Ballesteros and Olazabal earned a combined four times.
Garcia, who now has 10 PGA TOUR and 13 European Tour wins including THE PLAYERS Championship and a Green Jacket, can start thinking about his place in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
By comparison, Ballesteros, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1999, finished his career with five Major Championships, four PGA TOUR wins and 45 European Tour wins. Ten years later, Olazabal was inducted. He also won four times on the PGA TOUR, 21 times on the European TOUR and claimed two Green Jackets.
Garcia’s achievements to date have him on the fast-track to golf immortality and an eventual place in the Hall next to the other accomplished Spaniards. Still in the prime of his career, the future continues to be very bright for Sergio, whose career will move forward without a significant weight on his shoulders.
Garcia will be eligible for enshrinement into the Hall in 2030.
To view the criteria and process for World Golf Hall of Fame enshrinement, click here.
To view the 2017 Induction Class, click here.