Sergio García delivered an impeccable performance at the LIV Golf in Chicago, the penultimate individual tournament of the Saudi tour this season before the grand team final. The golfer from Borriol managed to lead the standings alone with a two-stroke advantage, although two bogeys in the final stretch of his round caused him to finish the day tied for first place with American Dustin Johnson. A great round of golf for the Spaniard, in any case, who regained his touch by adding an old putter from the late nineties to his bag.
“I hadn’t been home, in Austin, for some time, but last week I was able to return and picked up an old putter that I’ve always liked. The greens here are fast and with that putter I feel quite comfortable. If they were slow it would be more difficult because it doesn’t hit the ball very hard. I was practising last week and had good feelings. I’m just trying to find something I like, that gives me good feedback and that I can align well,” he acknowledged to the media after his round.
It’s a Titleist-Scotty Cameron Del Mar 3.5 putter with which he achieved his first victory on the DP World Tour in Ireland more than a quarter of a century ago. A club that, as he himself acknowledged, he had already rescued a few times in recent times: “I used it in Miami last year and changed it for that reason, because on some greens that were a bit slower it was more difficult for me as I had to hit the ball harder and lost a bit of rhythm.”
“Soon I will receive a putter I am working on with a company from Switzerland, Golfyr, I am excited about it”
Sergio confirmed it was a model from more than a quarter of a century ago and gave hints about what will be his new ‘weapon’ on the greens soon: “I like the putters Scotty made for me in the late nineties and early this century. Soon I will receive a putter I am working on with a company from Switzerland, Golfyr, which I should be able to have in the next three weeks or so, and I am excited about it. I like the feel it offers and how it is.”
Regarding his Friday round in Chicago, the Spaniard was more than satisfied: “Obviously, very happy with the round. Tough day out there… The greens were quite firm and there was quite a bit of wind. It was difficult to get the distances right, but I managed it most of the day.” Heading into the weekend as the leader, Sergio is clear about his plan: “My thoughts are the same: keep playing, keep doing things well and be patient out there because it’s not easy.”
The man from Borriol, after a few difficult weeks without good results except for the top 10 at Valderrama, felt good about his game again: “Today I felt I hit the ball almost as well as at the beginning of the year. I made a couple of good putts and left several shots very, very close… If you have five or six given birdies, obviously that helps a lot.” And finally, he didn’t want to lament some shots where luck wasn’t on his side: “If I shot four under par it’s because I was meant to… We can talk about better bounces or putts that could have gone in, but it’s not going to change my round.”
