DUBAI // Sergio Garcia was so difficult to knock from his stride that Henrik Stenson resorted to any means to stop him in his tracks.
The pair, good friends from time spent together on the European Tour, were pitted in a direct duel at Emirates Golf Club on Sunday, where Garcia was attempting to secure a wire-to-wire victory at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. Stenson, meanwhile, was seeking a second tournament win.
Garcia appeared to have it wrapped up by the 17th, though, having already stretched his overnight lead by one stroke to four shots. Seemingly dismayed by it all, Stenson playfully nabbed the Spaniard’s iron from his hand as they walked off the tee and threw it on the grass in an attempt to trip up Garcia.
Yet his rival did not put a foot wrong. All week, in fact.
“It was great,” said Garcia, sitting next to his newly acquired Dallah trophy. “I’m looking forward to next week, relax a little bit and rest a bit. It was hard out there. Henrik always makes it difficult, which is great, and we both played hard. I’m very happy that I was able to come out on top.”
A bogey-free 69 on a Sunday would do that. It lifted Garcia to 19-under par for the week and three clear of nearest challenger Stenson, in the process gifting him a first European Tour triumph in three years and 40 events. Some other impressive numbers included his 30th win worldwide – he has 12 on the Euro circuit – and a move from world No 15 into the top 10. What is more, Garcia led the greens in regulation, and was second in fairways hit. All in all, a pretty impressive display.
“I’ve been fortunate to have some really good ball-striking tournaments,” said Garcia, whose best finish in seven previous attempts at the Classic was tied-11th way back when, in 2009. “This definitely was one of them.”
That much was obvious from the beginning of his Round 4. Wearing canary yellow, Garcia flew out of the traps, birdieing the first then making a crucial par save on the eighth when his first drive was so far right that he required a reload. However, he found his original, made his four from the greenside bunker and promptly birdied the next.
“Obviously eight was a big moment of the round for me,” Garcia, 37, said. “And it was a little bit of a wake-up call, too, because it was like, ‘jeez, what’s happening here?’ I felt so comfortable throughout that I probably didn’t focus as much as I should have ... that was big.”
Stenson represented a rather large threat, too. The highest-ranked player in the field at world No 4, not to mention the reigning British Open champion, he rallied by the 14th to cut Garcia’s lead to two, but a two-shot swing at the par-3 next effectively ended the Swede’s chances.
“Sergio hit a lovely shot to about two and a half feet,” Stenson said. “And it was pretty much game, set and match on the 15th green.”
There was a right racket by the time the two approached the final green. With the gallery greeting Garcia’s approach to 18 with a raucous cheer, all Stenson could do was give his opponent for the day a hearty slap on the back.
“He played solid,” Stenson said. “I played three out of the four rounds with him, and he put a really good score together the first day and just carried that momentum throughout the whole week.
“He did all the things you need to do to win a golf tournament, so congratulations to him. He’s a worthy champion and I’ll be back next year trying to make it a second time.”
Later this year, Garcia will be trying to finally land a first major title. Widely recognised as one of the most talented golfers of his generation without one of the game’s four most coveted crowns on his CV, given his Dubai display, the talk inevitably turns to making 2017 his breakthrough. Predictably, Garcia understands that.
“It’s simple. When I get to Augusta, US Open, the British Open, PGA [Championship], I just want to do the best I can,” he said. “Just like I try any other week. So that’s not going to change.
“We try to play as well as we can every single week, and I’m going to keep trying and give myself more shots, more chances at majors, and see what happens.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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