El Niño Hits Omega Flagship Store, Heads to Barclays

Sergio Garcia donates watch before competing in the FedEx Cup Playoffs

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TGM: You missed the playoffs at the Wyndham Championship by an inch. How do you feel about your performance last week?
SG: I felt like I was pretty decent the first three rounds and then on Sunday I just wasn’t quite there. I started well and then let it slip away a little bit. But, with all the struggles I had coming in, at least I had a chance of getting to the playoff and giving it my best shot. And unfortunately I came up just a little bit short.

TGM: What was going through your mind watching that shot leave the bunker, knowing what was on the line?
SG: It looked good when I saw it. I cut it really nicely and it spun quite a bit right to left, it had a chance but it almost seemed like it was struggling to get there a little bit. It was a good, solid week. Hopefully I can draw good things from it.

TGM: You’ve been coined as the “best player without a major.” How does that moniker make you feel and does it affect you in any kind of way?
SG: No, no. I think that I’m looking forward to change that, but it doesn’t bother me at all. At the end of the day I know what I want to do, I know what I want to accomplish and I know where I stand. It’s just a matter of keep working on it and getting better.

TGM: You and Rafael Nadal are good friends, is that correct?
SG: Yea, a little bit.

TGM: Do you guys go back and forth with different strategies for your respective sports, or give each other advice when going into tournaments or matches?
SG: No, not quite. We enjoy each others company. We play golf together. We play tennis together, soccer, things like that. But, no. I think that everybody’s got their own way of doing things. Their own way of feeling comfortable and some of the things I do might not work for him and some of the things he does might not work for me. Everybody finds their own comfort level in their own way.

TGM: Do you put any personal added pressure on yourself when entering a major? Or is it just another tournament?
SG: No, obviously it’s not because majors they’re always the bigger test. Not only for the game, but for the mind and you know that you only have four of them, tournaments you have a whole bunch throughout the year. So, it definitely puts extra pressure because you know if you don’t perform that week you’re running out for the year. But you try to not let it affect you. It’s not easy, but that’s what you try to do.

TGM: Going into the Barclays what are some key things you are trying to focus on this week?
SG: Well, I want to keep working on some of the good things I did last week on my swing. I want to keep working a little bit on my short game, keep feeling better at it. So, if I manage to do that, hopefully keep getting some confidence on my side, keep improving on the game—that’ll be a good thing.

TGM: When you capture that first major, and you’re amongst your fellow countrymen José Maria Olazábal and Seve Ballesteros, how is that going to make you feel?
SG: I don’t know. I’m looking forward to that feeling, but I don’t know. The only thing I can do is keep at it. Hopefully it happens sometime soon and then I can tell you what it feels like (laughing).