Getting to Australia involves a long journey from almost anywhere in the world, and certainly from the northern hemisphere, so it is best to make the most of any time off. Accompanied by his wife, Angela, Sergio Garcia is in Queensland this week to compete in the Australian PGA Championship (official tournament of the European Tour), and they took some time before the tournament to visit the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast.
While there they encountered a few “locals”: a koala, an audax eagle, a python, kangaroos and a family of broad-tailed parakeets or rosellas. “It was amazing,” said Angela. “I had never been to Australia. I have seen many pictures and videos of the animals here, but getting to touch a koala, a snake and an eagle, as well as feed the kangaroos, was something incredible.
“We learned a lot about animals,” Angela added, “and what they are doing here at the sanctuary is really important. They are helping a lot of animals that are injured or sick. They are trying to release them back into the wild. We are animal lovers. Whenever we see a dog or any kind of animal, Sergio always wants to pet the dog and I love animals too. I often yell at Sergio to stop catching lizards; we have a lot of funny stories about that.”
Sergio added: “It was a great experience to be able to see all the amazing animals they have here. It was an incredible treat and we really enjoyed it. I love animals – I always have.”
The couple enjoyed meeting and learning about Australian wildlife, but the kangaroos stole their hearts. “I loved the kangaroos,” said Angela. “There was a little joey (baby kangaroo) that I wanted to take home with me, but I don’t think they like that. He was really good; feeding him was really great.”
To Sergio it was the big male kangaroo that caught his attention. “He was one of those guys you don’t want to mess with. He was big; you could see he had a huge chest.”
In regarding the competition, the Spaniard finished the first day in third position, one stroke behind the Australian Jordan Zunic and Adam Bland, both with six under par. Sergio is tied with four other local players.
The reigning Augusta Masters champion, with five birdies and no faults in his first 18 holes, is the only non-Australian player in the top 14 of the provisional standings of the second tournament of the new European Tour season. Heavy rains forced the competition to be suspended twice, but in the end all players were able to complete the first day.
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