The week began with a joke with Sergio García. In the interview prior to the start of the LIV Golf Andalucía we asked him, pardon the expression, if he could be considered the “fucking king” of Valderrama, continuing with the joke we already made in the Provisional Ball podcast.
The golfer from Borriol smiled, he liked it, but he was quite cautious. That thing about selling the bear’s skin before hunting it doesn’t appeal to anyone… But of course, it’s Sunday and it turns out that it’s Sergio and not someone else who has won this week. Definitely, he is the “fucking king”, pardon me. Again.
“I don’t know if I am, but I must certainly be close,” Sergio said to the media at the end of the tournament and with a hearty laugh. There he is, four victories and always in the top 10 except for one edition. If he’s not, he looks a lot like it.
Sergio’s connection with Valderrama exists, it’s palpable. It’s not something esoteric. In fact, García himself confessed that he is already looking for a house in Sotogrande. It’s not a figure of speech. It’s something real. “Yes, yes, it’s true, we’re going to start looking to buy a house. I’ve talked to my wife and we’re going to get on with it. This place is too special to say goodbye to it,” he explains.
Sergio was excited, very excited. Probably, more than ever in his life, beyond that unsurpassable Sunday of glory at the Augusta Masters. That’s something else. It’s the new version of Sergio that we’ve been talking about for a while. The one that was seen at the US Open, the one that he has been showing all this year 2024. He is a much more relaxed Sergio, more enjoyable, able to appreciate all the good things around him and much less negative. He values what he achieves and his mind has learned to keep the good and leave aside the bad, or at least minimize it. That’s why, even when he made three putts on hole 3, he didn’t fall apart. “It was already a great week no matter what happened. Of course it hurt the possibility of being second again, of course the other playoffs went through my head, but deep down I was convinced that it had been a very good week and I was proud of today’s round,” he points out.
García has excelled at golf and enjoyed it. An hour after winning he was still savouring some of his shots. Like the one on hole 12, that magical 6 iron that went in by a real miracle. “I was very comfortable, hitting each shot as I wanted. I don’t know if it’s the best I’ve played in Valderrama, but it will be close. I’ve been very comfortable.”
Sergio won his first tournament in 1999 and 25 years later he is still winning. This is a brutal fact. “I’m not much for records, but I value it a lot. It means two things: that I’m getting old and that I’ve had a very good career.”
Sergio, adopted son of Valderrama and in the near future, neighbour of Sotogrande.
