IRVING, Texas – It had been nearly four years since Sergio Garcia had won a PGA Tour event, but his triumph on Sunday at the AT&T Byron Nelson carried a little more weight than merely marking the end of a drought.
With his playoff victory over Brooks Koepka, Garcia matched Seve Ballesteros for the most wins by a Spaniard on the U.S. circuit, with nine.
“It’s another achievement that I couldn’t be prouder of, to be next to a legend like him, it’s amazing,” said Garcia, who made par at the first extra hole to clip Koepka.
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Garcia also laughed, “I kind of won it a little bit today his way.”
Ballesteros, who was known for his stellar short game, would have been particularly pleased with Garcia’s performance at TPC Four Seasons. El Nino hit just 11 of 18 greens in regulation, but scrambled for a closing 68 that included an unlikely par after he found the water with his drive on the par-4 11th hole.
But Garcia said the biggest momentum-saver came at the 14th hole, after he hit his approach shot into another water hazard but mitigated the damage with a bogey.
“More than anything, not making double [bogey] on 14 after hitting in the water was very important,” he said.