Sergio Garcia rattles the records on European Tour to win Castello Masters in Spain
Veteran Spaniard Sergio Garcia, who had been lurking in obscurity for the last three years, finally pulled in his long-awaited victory at the Castello Masters in a thrilling fashion. Already having rounds of 63 and 64 on his belt on the previous days of
the event, he carded a final round score of another 63 to finish for a jaw-dropping 27-under, leading the field by a whopping 11 shots. This marks the joint-third largest victory, in terms of low scores, ever carded in the European Tour history.
"I would like to thank not only my family and friends, but also my sponsors, everyone that's around me, for supporting me through two tough years," he said. "At the beginning of the week there's always a little extra pressure because you want to do well
in front of your home fans and on your home course. But I felt really good and it showed. Hopefully I can keep moving forward, but there are still some things I can improve on."
Garcia most definitely utilized the advantage of playing on home course where he won the Club Championship at 12, in the best possible way, maneuvering his way through the sturdy field of the event. He started off the final day with an eight shot lead, owing
to his stellar performances in the past three days and never looked back. He dedicated his victory to the late Severiano Ballesteros right after he sank the 18th green, "That was for Seve," said Garcia with his trademark toothy grin.
Countryman Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño finished for an outright second, hitting a superb 64 on the final day. He dropped two shots on the closing of his final round, which otherwise could not have made any difference to Garcia’s invincible lead. Swede Alexander
Noren and Scot Richie Ramsay finished for a joint third with their aggregate scores of 15-under.
Garcia pulled in his last victory at the HSBC Championship in 2008 and since then, have been battering injuries and form vows since long. He soared to number two in Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) after his last victory in 2008, but gradually saw his
downfall from the top in consecutive years. He fell out of top-75 on the OWGR a few months back and despite of his finger injury, managed to pull in some strong finishes in the season. He finished for a brilliant joint seventh at the US open at Congressional
and a joint ninth at the Open Championship at Royal St. George’s. He also posted an impressive joint 12th at the PGA Championship and it was more than evident that Garcia will shot back to stardom anytime in the near future.
With a winning prize share of € 333,330, Garcia is back in the top-15 on Race to Dubai and has now soared to within top-35 on the OWGR.
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