Sergio García: "I feel I have a chance to win more than one Grand Prix".

Sergio García, winner of the Augusta Masters, appeared yesterday before the media at the Club de Campo del Mediterráneo, in Borriol (Castellón), where not only 50 journalists were waiting for him but also his family, friends, members and all the Club’s employees to pay him an emotional tribute.

Upon his arrival at the Club where he has been formed “as a player and as a person”, the player from Castellón was greeted with banners, flowers, cake (coca fullá de Borriol), confetti and a heartfelt ovation. Then, in a crowded hall and proudly wearing the green jacket, he answered all the questions being interrupted several times by the applause of all attendees.

Sensations since the triumph: “It was very nice. These two and a half weeks have been very intense. This reception in my club is incredible. This green jacket is a little bit of everyone, the club, the members, my family and my team, and all the people who know me. It has been very nice and we have to enjoy it because this is a little bit of everyone”.

Whether he will share a locker in the champions’ locker room at Augusta with José Mari Olazábal: “Hopefully yes, they will put us together, but I won’t know until I get there next year.”

How was the night after the victory: “We slept a little, but not much. There was a lot to do on the course. We finished playing at seven o’clock and we didn’t leave Augusta National until half past eleven, between ceremonies, interviews, dinner with the members… When we got to the house we had rented we had a little party with the Spanish press. We didn’t go to sleep until 4 or 5 o’clock. It was a beautiful and very intense night. We didn’t sleep much in New York either, I had to do a lot of interviews very early in the morning. It was a very intense three days.

What he values most about this success: “Many things and many people come to mind. My family, my girlfriend, her family…, everyone who has been supporting me over the years. I feel very proud to have made a dream come true, and on top of that at Augusta, which makes it even more beautiful! It’s a prize for hard work, consistency, perseverance and not giving up believing. I always believed I would get there.

“When I won I got so many flashes and so many in a row in such a short time; I felt euphoria, anger, joy, excitement… I celebrated as I felt it.”

What has changed since 2012, when he said he wasn’t good enough to win a major: “Honestly, not many things. The week of the Masters I already commented that I was working on accepting things, on being more patient, on how to take the good and bad moments in the best way. The 2012 thing caught me in a complicated moment, a Saturday that I was going out with possibilities, I didn’t play well, it wasn’t the first time, I got frustrated and then… you know I usually say what I feel. But that was just a moment of great frustration, because later, in the next tournament, I went all the way. After that Masters I’ve done a lot of good things, I’ve won tournaments”.

If this victory at Augusta will help the development of golf in Spain: “If it doesn’t help, I don’t know what to do. We know that golf in Spain is, among other things, a great attraction for tourism and we have to keep fighting because there is more and more competition from other countries. Hopefully the politicians will help and the Federation will help too”.

No Spanish Open this year. “It is unfortunate that this year it will not be played. We continue to support it and we are going to do it with the Andalucía Valderrama Masters. But it’s not a question for me, it’s for the Federation, which owns the Open de España.”

Key moment on Sunday at the Masters: “For me it was important not to go crazy on the 12th hole and want to be more aggressive than I had to be, because if I went crazy and went into the water, that would be the end of the tournament. Then, on the 13th, we both made par, but the way the hole went and the problems I had, I think I made half a birdie and Justin half a bogey. I knew I had holes left to do some good things and hit some good shots. I think at that point Justin Rose also saw that I wasn’t getting away.”

Match with Justin: “We are very good friends, we have spent a lot of time together and shared good and bad times. Playing together probably helped us both. We were celebrating good shots; he hit me with the putter on 15, then I patted him on the back. If we had played dog-faced I would have felt bad, I prefer to be the way I am and act the way I act. The nice thing is to win by playing a little better than the other player. When I won he told me: “if there is anyone who deserved this victory it was you”. If you didn’t get along with your teammates… they wouldn’t say that to you”.

Those dreams of greatness when he trained at this club as a child: “When I was little maybe I was in the putting-green and I did think to see if I win this, that, or that I had a putt to win the British, the Masters … They are dreams of kids. But then things happen the way they happen, nothing is easy, everybody practices hard and nobody gives you anything for free. Not everyone can win. I said at the time that I was very proud of my career for its consistency: I have been 19 seasons among the top fifteen or twenty in the world. This fact is sometimes looked down on, maybe not valued, but I always valued it before I won the Masters, and I know the golf pros valued it too.

On the Clásico, Madrid-Barça: “It was a beautiful game. Both teams were a bit touched by the Champions League. The ovation they gave me was what I liked the most, I got excited. I have received many good ovations in many tournaments, in the Ryder Cup, in the British, in Augusta, but to enter a stadium like the Bernabéu and have 90,000 people chanting your name… It made my hair stand on end. It was very exciting. I thank Real Madrid for giving me that opportunity and for making me an honorary member, because there are very few of us”.

That new attitude, at what point does that turning point occur?: “It is not a new attitude. I’ve had the same many times, although it’s true that maybe in the Majors I was more restless. This week in Augusta the mentality was very important”.

Work before the Masters: “In Dubai it already went very well. That win against Henrik Stenson gave me a lot of confidence. Then, the week before the Masters, I was working in Austin with my dad and he told me that I looked really good, that he thought I was going to do something important in Augusta. The combination of the training and mentality was perfect.”

If he feels capable of winning more Grandes: “We are at a good level. You never know what’s going to happen but I’m confident of continuing to do good things; I see myself as capable of continuing to improve. Everyone knows how much the British Open means to me and I would like to win it. Yes, I feel I have a chance to win more than one major.

If in the play-off the ghost of Carnoustie crossed his mind: “No, for a very simple reason. There I made bogey on the last hole and then the feeling is that I let it slip away a little bit, but in Augusta I was playing very well and I had the feeling that I had done everything I could do; I went to the play-off thinking: I’m fine, happy, calm, playing great. My girlfriend gave me a high-five and said: “come on, it’s yours”. My mother gave me a kiss and said: “come on, you can do it”. I went out to play the play-off with the mentality of making a birdie”.

Motivation for the emergence of Jon Rahm: “I get along very well with Jon, with Rafa and I am proud of the Spaniards who compete on the Tour, and if they do better than me, so much the better. That Jon has been the fourth Spaniard to win on the PGA Tour is a source of pride, everything good that a Spaniard does makes me proud, I’m not going to be jealous or itchy. The most important thing is that Jon continues to play well, that Rafa recovers his level of the last few years, it was nice to see that Gonzalo had a good week, or Larrazábal… When Pablo beat me in that playoff in Germany, logically I wanted to have won it, but I was delighted that a Spaniard won”.

Harrington’s statement: “I spoke to him last weekend because we coincided at Rory’s wedding. There is no problem, we have no problem and we respect each other.”

The influence of Angela Akins, his girlfriend: “She has helped me a lot. She’s not the only one. My whole team, my family, her family, they have been helping me for a shorter time. She has done her part and has helped me a lot, but it’s also true that I take the hits… It’s always important to have someone who loves and supports you, through thick and thin.

How much you have changed: “I’m the same Sergio I’ve always been. I have a Masters and maybe my confidence is better than it was a while ago, but I haven’t changed a bit.

You’ve taken some pressure off: “Let’s see, yes, I’ve taken some pressure off. I always said I didn’t need to win a Grand Slam to be happy, although it helps, I’m not going to lie”.

Future of Spanish golf; “Jon is doing very well, playing very well, things are going well for him and it is important to gain confidence. Rafa I hope he recovers to the level of the last few years. There are several players: Nacho Elvira has had a solid year, Pablo seems to be doing good things, let’s see if Gonzalo gets more confidence. If we can go twelve Spaniards to the Ryder Cup, all the better.

Champions Dinner on Tuesday at Augusta 2018: “I had the menu in mind before this year but I’m not going to tell you what it consists of, although it will be very Spanish.”

Champion green jacket: “The jacket is going to travel with us quite a bit, I’m proud to wear it. At some point it will show up at our wedding, but I’m not getting married wearing it.”

Something he is looking forward to: “I’m looking forward to standing on the tee at The Players and being presented as the winner of the tournament and also of the Masters.

“Playing golf is what I love most in the world, it makes me happy. I’m a perfectionist and I like to do my best.”