An eagle that was almost an albatross and a missed tiddler lead to a colourful summary of his second round by Sergio Garcia; "There were a lot of good things, unfortunately a lot of bad things"; watch the final two rounds live on Sky Sports The Players
Saturday 13 March 2021 00:37, UK
Sergio Garcia described his second-round 72 at The Players Championship as a "beautiful rollercoaster".
The 41-year-old Spaniard failed to match his seven-under 65 in the first round but there was still plenty of action in his level-par outing at TPC Sawgrass.
He was inches away from an albatross as he made an eagle at the par-five 11th but also missed a number of short putts, including one from barely a foot at the 15th, as he recorded five bogeys.
Garcia also knocked in three birdie putts, including ones at the 16th and 18th as he rallied from that setback at the 15th to move within two shots of halfway leader Lee Westwood.
"It was a beautiful rollercoaster, that's for sure," said the 2008 Players Championship winner.
"There were a lot of good things, unfortunately a lot of bad things. But more than anything there was a lot of fighting, and that's one of the things that I'm most proud of because when things are not really happening and you miss a couple of putts here and there, it's easy to kind of let the round get away from you.
"Fortunately for me I was able to keep it together and obviously had a great finish the last three holes, so very proud of that."
Garcia admitted the eagle at the 11th had come at a good time as he started to flounder a little after leading by two overnight.
He added: "Yes, it was important, without a doubt, because I was coming off not birdieing nine that I felt that I played quite well and unfortunately didn't do it, and I three-putted 10, so it was important to get something really good on our side and kind of bring me back - bring back a little bit of peace on me.
"That was obviously important, but then I kind of gave it away and I had to kind of get it back again."
At the age of 41, the 2017 Masters champion, who claimed his 11th PGA Tour win at the Sanderson Farms Championship last October, is proud to still be competing at the highest level alongside 47-year-old Westwood.
"I think that you take pride no matter what age you are, but as you get older, without a doubt you're proud of anything that you do. It doesn't get any easier," he said.
"I think Lee is playing unbelievable again, and I'm playing quite well. It's nice to see both things."
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