Garcia ends US drought in Mississippi
Sergio Garcia (Photo by Montana Pritchard/PGA of America)
Sergio Garcia won for the first time since last year’s KLM Open when he hit a 172-yard approach to two-and-a-half feet at the 18th to win the Sanderson Farms Championship by a shot from Peter Malnati.
While he has won three times in Europe, it was 40-year old Spaniard’s first win on the PGA Tour since the 2017 Masters as he closed with a 67 to claim his 11th US win by a shot on 19-under par at the Country Club of Jackson.
It was a big win for Garcia, who recently failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs for the first time in his career and recently slipped out of the top 50 in the world for the first time since 2011.
Tied for the 54 hole lead with JT Poston and Cameron Davis, he eagled the par-five 14th, hitting a 260-yard approach to three-and-a-half feet to get to 18 under, then closed out the tournament with that wonder-strike at the 18th.
“Obviously the perfect ending for an amazing week,” said Garcia, who moves up 13 places to 38th in the world. “I obviously knew that Pedrito, he finished at 18, so I knew that I needed to birdie one of the last two or three to get ahead. I actually thought I birdied 17. I hit a great putt. I thought I made it. Unfortunately, I didn't.
“But then I stood up on 18 and I did what I've been doing all week. I trusted myself. I aimed down the right side of the fairway and just hit a hard draw, really, really nice drive, actually went quite long because it was playing a little bit into the wind, and it gave me the ability to have an 8-iron into the green instead of having a six or something like that, and then just hit, funny enough, my last win, Augusta -- well, my last win on the PGA TOUR at Augusta, the eight-iron on 15, this time it was the eight-iron on 18, and to almost hit the pin again and to hit it that close, obviously it was a dream come true.“
Final-Round Leaderboard
Sergio Garcia 68-68-66-67—269 (-19)
Peter Malnati 70-67-70-63—270 (-18)
J.T. Poston 66-67-69-70—272 (-16)
Henrik Norlander 69-70-69-65—273 (-15)
Keegan Bradley 66-65-73-69—273 (-15)
Things to Know
Sergio Garcia wins the Sanderson Farms Championship with a birdie on the 72nd hole
Garcia now owns PGA TOUR wins in three different decades (2000s, 2010s, 2020s)
The last four 54-hole leaders/co-leaders of the Sanderson Farms Championship have converted for the win
2015 Sanderson Farms Championship winner Peter Malnati fires career-low 63 en route to runner-up result
Tyler McCumber posts second career top-10 in back-to-back weeks
Monday qualifier MJ Daffue posts best finish in fifth start (T12)
Defending champion Sebastian Munoz finishes T23 at 10-under
Maverick McNealy wins RSM Birdies Fore Love program with 24 birdies or better to earn $50,000 for charity of his choice
Player Sergio Garcia
Age 40 (1/9/1980)
Country Spain
FedExCup 4
OWGR Projected top 40
Sanderson Farms starts 1
Sanderson Farms wins 1
Sanderson Farms Top 10s 1
PGA TOUR starts 368
PGA TOUR wins 11
Starts in 2020-21 3
Sergio Garcia (1st/-19)
In first Sanderson Farms Championship start, birdies the 72nd hole with a putt from 2 feet, 6 inches to win for the 11th time on TOUR in his 368th start at 40 years, 8 months, 26 days
Joined leader in the clubhouse Peter Malnati at 18-under with an eagle at the par-5 14th hole after a 5-wood from 260 yards to 3 feet, 5 inches before securing victory with birdie at the final hole
Approach to the 72nd hole (2’ 6”) was the closest of any player; average on that hole in the final round was 40’ 1”
Fourth consecutive 54-hole leader/co-leader to win Sanderson Farms Championship
Has now won five times of 15 while holding a 54-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA TOUR, most recent before this week was the 2017 Masters Tournament
Now owns victories in three different decades on the PGA TOUR (2000s, 2010s, 2020s), the 78th player to achieve this feat (most recent – Stewart Cink/2020 Safeway Open); also won twice in 1999 as a 19-year-old on the European Tour
Came into this event off missed cuts in two previous starts this season (Safeway Open, U.S. Open)
Claims 11th career PGA TOUR victory and first since the 2017 Masters Tournament
Collects 500 FedExCup points and invitations to the Sentry Tournament of Champions, 2021 Masters Tournament, THE PLAYERS Championship and PGA Championship
Ranked T1 in Greens in Regulation for the week: 34/56 fairways, 60/72 greens, 116 putts, 8 of 12 in scrambling
Ranked No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Off The Tee (5.492) and Strokes Gained: Tee To Green (12.044)
Peter Malnati (2nd/-18)
2015 Sanderson Farms Championship winner records career-low 63, surpassing previous best by one stroke (64/R3/2020 Wyndham Championship, 64/R1/2018 Travelers Championship)
Also posted 270 (-18) when he won this event in 2015
Records fifth career top-10, including one victory (1/2015 Sanderson Farms Championship, T10/2015 Mayakoba Golf Classic, T6/2016 Sentry Tournament of Champions, T9/2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans/with Billy Hurley III, 2nd/2020 Sanderson Farms Championship)
Miscellaneous Notes
54-hole co-leader J.T. Poston (3rd/-16) records his best finish in five appearances at the Sanderson Farms Championship: T29/2016, T53/2017, T54/2018, T11/2019, 3rd/2020
Henrik Norlander (T4/-15) records fifth career top-10 with two eagles in the final round (Nos. 3 and 15) for a total of three during the event (No. 14/R1), tied for most with Keegan Bradley; marks second time in his career with two eagles in one round (R3/2017 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am)
36-hole leader Keegan Bradley (T4/-15) notched three eagles at No. 11 this week (R1, R3, R4), marking the fifth event where he has made three or more eagles in an event on TOUR
A back-nine 40 (+4) in round two marked the only one (of eight) nine-hole segment over par for Scott Stallings (T6/-14)
A week after a career-best, solo-second at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, Tyler McCumber (T6/-14) posts his second career top-10 finish in back-to-back tournaments
Making his fifth start in the Sanderson Farms Championship, Charley Hoffman (T6/-14) posted a 3-under 69 to extend his streak of par-or-better rounds this season to a perfect 12-for-12
With a 2-under 70, Denny McCarthy (T6/-14) has par-or-better scores in 13 of 14 rounds at the Country Club of Jackson
With his 1-under 71, Norway’s Kristoffer Ventura (T6/-14) has posted par-or-better scores in all 12 rounds he has played this season; second top-10 of the season after T7 at Safeway Open
54-hole co-leader Cameron Davis (T6/-14) was seeking to become the seventh consecutive first-time winner at the Sanderson Farms Championship
Stewart Cink’s (T12/-13) final-round 65 marks his lowest 18-hole score in 21 rounds at the Sanderson Farms Championship
Final-round 66 by Camilo Villegas (T23/-10) marks his lowest round on TOUR since a first-round 66 at THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2017, a span of 1,137 days
Toughest hole for the week was the par-4 16th (4.162); Easiest hole for the week was par-5 14th (4.660)
