Chip Shots

Spanish whine

Poor Sergio Garcia never gets a break.

Well, give me one then. The 27 year old Spaniard had a three shot lead going into the final round of the British Open Sunday and ended up losing to Ireland's Padraig Harrington in a four hole playoff. During Sunday's final round Garcia saw his lead balloon to four shots and he trailed by one shot as he played the 17th hole at Carnoustie, Scotland.

Had Garcia held on to his lead, he would have won his first Major Championship. Instead, he let it get away and blamed everything but himself in a post tournament interview. Arguably the best player to not win a major, Garcia's act has worn thin in some corners, including this one.

"It seems to me like every time I get this kind of position I have no room for error," Garcia said afterward. "I miss one shot and I rarely get many good breaks."

Come on Garcia, you had your score to 10 under par, four better than anyone else at the time, and you ended up in a playoff at seven under par. It would seem at that point you had room for an error or two, you just made a few too many coming down the stretch.

Oh, and the good breaks you don't get? What about Harrington with a one shot lead on you, nearly going Jean Van de Velde on 18. Harrington hit two shots into Barry Burn and made a double bogey to stay one shot clear of Van de Velde's 1999 triple bogey we had to see what seemed like 20 times last week.

How was that not a break for you? What would have been a bad break for you was if Harrington's ball had bounced across the bridge on 18, as it nearly did. But it did not, and when it was all over, you needed a par on 18 to claim your first major.

To do that, Garcia hit an iron off the tee which would require a 240 yard 3-iron to the green.

Unfortunately for Garcia the group between him and Harrington had just disturbed two green side bunkers and the caddy needed a few minutes to properly rake them. The "15 minute wait did not help," was Garcia's comment on the situation.

It did take Garcia awhile to complete the 18th, but it wasn't the rake job as much as it was Harrington trying to make a double bogey instead of a triple two groups ahead. You know, the double that gave Garcia a chance to salvage the championship.

Garcia missed his approach left and putted through the extended collar to about nine feet. Using a belly putter typically seen in the golf bags of much older players, Garcia hit a fine putt for par which touched the left edge of the hole but did not fall in.

So here are some reasons Garcia's act has become so annoying. He complains about having to wait to hit a shot on 18. Anyone who plays golf has some unexpected annoying waits, it's golf. Plus, what could have been more annoying than waiting on Garcia to hit a shot a few years back when he kept re-gripping his club at each address?

I know American fans can be unruly during Ryder Cup play, but I still don't like Garcia gesturing angrily at them. Just ignore them Garcia. Even worse was him spitting into the cup on a green earlier this year after missing a putt.

Then came Sunday's press conference where he put the blame everywhere but on himself. Sergio, it's probably your putting. My longtime member-guest partner showed up last week with a belly putter, which was fine because he has a belly and is old enough to play with a belly putter.

Switching putters may be one option to improve. My suggestion is to spend less time figuring out some of the ridiculous colors he is going to wear and more time on the putting green. Try khaki, white, blue, olive and black and quit complaining.