PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – For the second year in a row, Sergio Garcia came up just shy of a second title at The Players Championship.
Following his theatrics on the 71st hole a year ago, Garcia again played his way into contention at TPC Sawgrass only to come up just short. The Spaniard carded a 2-under 70 in the final round to finish alone in third place, two shots behind Martin Kaymer.
“Just a shame, just a couple shots on the back nine,” Garcia said. “That’s what it came down to, and that’s what it usually comes down to.”
Full-field scores from The Players Championship
The Players Championship: Articles, videos and photos
Garcia played his first 10 holes Sunday without a bogey, then bogeyed the par-5 11th after an aggressive approach found the water. He also bogeyed the 14th, a costly blemish after finding the fairway off the tee.
“Unfortunately a little slip on the pine straw on 11, mis-hit it in the water, and then a bad shot on 14,” said Garcia. “We tried as hard as we could, but unfortunately we weren’t good enough.”
While Garcia failed to reclaim the trophy he won here in a playoff in 2008, he was able to notch his fifth top-10 finish on the Stadium Course – and third top-three result since 2007.
“You know, it’s still another good week,” he said. “We keep putting ourselves in a situation to win, just came up a little bit short, but we’ve got to keep trying.”