Sergio Garcia

Sergio Garcia's Early Life and Background

Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia was born on January 9, 1980, in Borriol, Spain. Garcia's father, a club professional, became his first golf coach when he started playing at the age of three.

Garcia was already a club champion at the age of twelve. He became the European Amateur Championship's youngest-ever winner at the age of 15.

He began to make cuts in European Tour events at the age of 16. Garcia became the youngest player on the European Tour to make a cut when he did so at the 1995 Turespaña Open Mediterranea, a record that has since been surpassed in 2008 by Jason Hak.

Sergio Garcia's Amateur Golf Career

Garcia won the European version of the U.S. Junior Amateur, the R&A's Boys Amateur Championship, in 1997. While still an amateur, Garcia won the Catalan Open Championship in that same year, which marked his first professional victory. Then he took home the British Amateur Championship in 1998.

Garcia's early success on the golf course earned him the moniker El Niño or "the boy." He became a professional after placing low amateur in the 1999 Masters Tournament.

Sergio Garcia's Professional Career

His sixth professional appearance, the Irish Open in July 1999, marked Garcia's first victory on the European Tour. He first shot to international attention when he faced off against Tiger Woods in the 1999 PGA Championship, losing by one stroke but finishing runner-up.

On the sixteenth hole in the final round, García, his ball up against a tree stump in the right rough and the green concealed from view, swung hard with his eyes closed and struck a low curving fade that ran up onto the green late in the round. As the shot traveled, he dashed madly into the fairway and then the scissor-kick jumped to see what happened. Not too long after, he made Ryder Cup history as the youngest player to ever compete.

One of the few players to ever make an albatross (double eagle) on the par-5 second hole at the Masters was García in 2002 during a practice round. He hit a 325-yard drive and then holed a 253-yard 2-iron on the Augusta National Golf Club's 575-yard hole.

At age 20, he became the youngest winner on the Tour since Tiger Woods in 1996. In 2001, García, being 21 years old, won his first PGA Tour tournament at the MasterCard Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas. That same year, he also won again at the Buick Classic in New York. Early in January of 2002, García won the Mercedes Championships; two years later, in 2004, he repeated as the winner of the Buick Classic and the EDS Byron Nelson Championship.

He won his sixth tournament on the PGA Tour in 2005, the Booz Allen Classic. He had won eleven times on the PGA Tour, including the 2017 Masters Tournament, and sixteen times on the European Tour.

Every alternate year, professional golf teams from the United States and Europe compete in the Ryder Cup. Garcia played for Team Europe in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014, and 2016, except in the 2010 tournament, between his performances in 1999 and 2018. He shattered the record for the most career points scored in 2018.

Garcia won three of his four doubles matches and split the fourth to help the European team win 3.5 points in his debut Ryder Cup. Currently, Garcia has a record of 22 wins, 12 defeats, 7 halves, and a 62.2 winning percentage in total Ryder Cup matches.

In 2004, he received four points, and in 2006, he received five points. Moreover, Garcia finished 3-1 in 2018 and defeated Rickie Fowler in singles. Garcia increased his career Ryder Cup total to 25.5 points with a point for every win and a half-point for every match that was split. That beat Nick Faldo's previous record of 25.

After participating in the inaugural LIV Golf tournament in 2022, García resigned from the PGA Tour and was barred from participating in any more events. In 2023, García played without a conflicting event release, which resulted in fines and suspensions from the European Tour. In May, the European tour stated that he had resigned his membership with the circuit following the upholding of those sanctions by an independent arbitrator.

Sergio Garcia's Playing Style

One of the greatest players of all time, Ben Hogan, was compared to García because of his unconventional swing, which included a circular loop and a long, significant lag when he debuted as a professional.

Although he made efforts to make his swing more conventional during the 2003 season, he has mostly stuck to his original approach. In the beginning, he would grab the club handle, release it, and then grab it again before he would finally fire.

This tendency of "waggle" caused quite a stir, particularly at the 2002 U.S. Open when fans yelled, "Hit the ball, Sergio!" and some even kept track of his grabs. He gave up the habit ever since.

In response to critiques of his swing, he stated that he doesn't see the need to alter it because it suits him well. He prefers a natural swing over a precise swing, which is ineffective for him. He is renowned for his accuracy and iron play.

Sergio Garcia's Caddie

Sergio García's caddie is Glen Murray as of February 2024. Murray was on García's bag during his 2017 Masters victory at Augusta National and watched one of his best moments.

After parting ways in 2018, García rehired his former bagman for the 2021 AT&T Byron Nelson. He had previously worked with many caddies, including his brother Victor, Mike Kerr, and Mark Chaney.

In the four weeks preceding the US Open in 2018, García's form drastically deteriorated despite winning the SMBC Singapore Open at the beginning of the year with Murray at his side. He missed three cuts in those four weeks, including one when defending his Masters title. García and Murray separated before the year's second major.

García acknowledged that he needed to take more responsibility for his decisions after relying too heavily on Murray's advice. Murray is back on the course with García after a short stint caddying for Lee Westwood.

Murray's composure and loyalty are among his strongest attributes. Murray's comment to ESPN following García's 2017 victory at Augusta, his solo major victory to date, serves as an excellent metaphor: "I thought I'd be more emotional," Murray said.

Sergio Garcia's Golf Journey

Sergio Garcia, a Spaniard, had a remarkable knack for golf at a young age under his father's instruction. Before turning professional in 1999, he won significant amateur tournaments as a teenager. Garcia won eleven PGA Tour events and sixteen European tour events, along with the prestigious 2017 Masters Tournament.

He also became a Ryder Cup star, after he broke the career point record with 28.5 points. Glen Murray, Garcia's caddie, has been a steady companion on the course for the entirety of his career. As of February 2024, he is competing in LIV golf; he made the transition from PGA to LIV golf in 2022.

Sergio Garcia's Achievements

As a professional, García has won 36 international championships. He has accumulated over 450 weeks in the top 10 overall and over 300 weeks in the top 10 from 2000–2009, where he has spent most of his career according to the Official World Golf Ranking.

He won the HSBC Champions event in 2008, which catapulted him to his highest career ranking of world No. 2. He participated in ten of the eleven Ryder Cup tournaments he played in during his professional career, totaling a record 28.5 points.

Sergio Garcia's Majors

Sergio Garcia's Awards and Honors

Sergio Garcia's Net Worth

The net worth of Sergio Garcia is estimated to be $70 million as of February 2024. His career earnings, which include total earnings from the PGA Tour, European Tour, and LIV Golf, are $107.7 million. He made $8.6 million in 2023.

Sergio Garcia's Ventures

Garcia reportedly has endorsement deals with TaylorMade, Adidas, BMW, Credit Suisse, Goodr, and Superstroke. As per Forbes, he earns more than $9 million from his endorsements.

Sergio Garcia's Assets

Garcia lives with his family in Orlando, Florida, at his $1.97 million mansion. It is more than 4,400 square feet in size, with four bedrooms and four bathrooms, and is a 1995-built single-family property. The 0.55 acres of land that make up the property also include a garage for parking.

This Spanish-style estate also has sliding doors, tall ceilings, wood floors, an indoor heated pool and wood-burning fires. A pool area, a beautiful patio and an outside barbecue are also available for entertaining and having fun with family and friends.

Sergio Garcia's Family

Garcia was born in Borriol, Castellón, Spain, to Victor Garcia and Consuelo Fernandez. In a 2018 interview with CNN, García said about his father, “He’s been a huge influence in my life. He’s always been there for me, and he’s always given me the best advice.” Unfortunately, nothing is known about his mother’s personal life in the public domain.

Garcia has two siblings, Mar Garcia Fernandez, the younger sister, owns a clothing business, and Pablo Hernandez, a former football player, is her husband. while the eldest brother, Victor Garcia II, works as an art director and graphic designer.

Sergio Garcia's Wife

In July 2017, Garcia married Angela Akins. She played golf for the University of Texas team while she was a student there and has also done reporting for the Golf Channel, during which time she met Garcia for the first time.

She is a very handy golfer, playing off of 3, and her skills and knowledge of the game have undoubtedly aided Sergio. In addition to golf, Angela has a sporty family, as her grandfather Ray was a famed high school football coach in Texas, and her father Marty was a former All-American quarterback for Texas.

Given that her cousin, former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, won the MVP award and the Super Bowl in 2009, she is descended from American football royalty.

The couple has two kids together. Azalea, their first child, was born at the start of 2018. She has the name of the flower found on Augusta National's par-5 13th hole. Enzo, the couple's second child, was born in April 2020.

Sergio Garcia's Cars

Garcia reportedly has a BMW M3, but information regarding any further cars owned by him is not yet known.