AUSTIN, Texas (KTRK) – Sergio Garcia put up a fight at Austin Country Club on Thursday.
Garcia, an Austin resident and adopted Texas Longhorn, rallied from three holes down with five holes to play to tie the world No. 2 and remain in contention to win his group at the WGC-Dell Match Play.
“I would have grabbed a tie on the 14th hole and ran to the clubhouse if you had offered it to me,” Garcia remarked.
At the turn, Morikawa had a three-shot lead over Garcia, and he nearly extended it at the par-3 11th hole, but Garcia matched it with a 12-footer for par and stayed within three. The Spaniard then birdied four of his next five holes to square the match, including the par-4 15th hole from 30 feet.
There's no quit in @TheSergioGarcia.
Garcia wins 3 of the last 5 holes to earn a tie in his match against Collin Morikawa. pic.twitter.com/Dxn1iOBYIP
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 24, 2022
Garcia fanned his drive at the par-4 final hole way right and into the trees, his tee ball coming to rest on a downslope, in the pine straw, and just in front of a rock, after leaving his 18-foot birdie putt a few rotations short and watching Morikawa get up and down to match his par.
Garcia knew he needed to find a way to make par with 113 yards left and a stiff wind, as Morikawa was sitting beautifully in the fairway.
“The first thing that sprang to me was, why didn’t you make a better tee shot?” Garcia explained. “But, you know, I knew I had to get steep because there was a rock behind my ball.” The good news is that I had an opening and didn’t have to deal with a tree in front of me, which was fantastic, but I had to use my 52[-degree wedge] to get really, really steep. I felt it had a chance of going to the top and getting near to the hole the way it came out, but it didn’t, and I honestly would have taken it where it was before I hit it.”
Garcia shot a low spinner that carried the front greenside bunker and came up short of the cup by approximately 25 feet.
What is the level of difficulty?
Garcia responded, “I mean, it was OK.” “It wasn’t really difficult.” I mean, the lie made it a little bit more difficult, and the situation definitely made it a little bit more difficult, but I’ve had a lot tougher shots. But you still have to get there and hit the shot, and shoot it well, to give yourself a chance, because if I don’t hit a nice shot, it’ll be much simpler for him to go out there and get it very close.
As a result, doing so puts a little more pressure on him and provides me a little more of a chance.”
Garcia then two-putted to tie the hole and secure the improbable half-point. Garcia, who is now 1-0-1, will face Robert MacIntyre (0-2) on Friday, while Morikawa (1-0-1) will take on Jason Kokrak (1-1).
“It was a hard-fought match, and I’m not going to lie, I’m delighted with the tie, but a win would have been preferable,” Garcia said.
