Byron Nelson champ Garcia embraces Masters lessons

Sergio Garcia, the reigning Masters champion, has had lots of memorable experiences since relinquishing his title as the “World’s Best Golfer Without a Major Championship” last month in Augusta, Ga.

Garcia, 37, returned to action this week at The Players Championship following a month-long, post-Masters victory lap. He also will be the defending champion at the AT&T Byron Nelson, which begins Thursday at the Four Seasons Resort in Irving.

Garcia, a two-time Nelson champion (2016, 2004), has won three times at PGA Tour stops in Dallas-Fort Worth. He remains the youngest golfer (21) to win the Dean & DeLuca Invitational, Fort Worth’s annual event. Garcia claimed his first PGA Tour title in Fort Worth in 2001 and is on the commitment list to compete May 22-28 at Colonial Country Club.

Based on his engagement to fiancée Angela Akins, a former college golfer at TCU and Texas who is the daughter of former Longhorns’ quarterback Marty Akins, it is likely that golf fans in Texas will see more of Garcia, a native of Spain, in future seasons. The couple announced their engagement via Twitter in January and a wedding is planned later this summer.

During an interview earlier this week at The Players Championship, the No. 6 player in this week’s world golf rankings weighed in on multiple topics. Here is a look at Garcia in his own words:

On feedback from fans and peers since his Masters victory: “It’s been amazing. There’s so many great things that have happened since Sunday at Augusta. But for me, what has meant the most is to see the reaction from the players towards me and how happy – other than a couple – they all have been. That, to me, shows me a lot. It shows me how much my fellow players respect me and care about me. It’s something that you can’t really fake, so that’s awesome.”

On not receiving universal locker-room support for his Masters win: “Well, it’s true. I’m not going to lie.”

On the state of his game after a month-long break: “I had a plan like this before we managed to win the Masters. I’m actually glad that we did because with everything that has been going on and everything that we’ve had to do after winning at Augusta, not only in Spain but here in the U.S., it’s actually been nice to be able to have a couple of weeks in Switzerland with Angela where we relaxed and pretty much did nothing. … I still feel confident out there. I’ve just got to keep doing more and more of that. At the end of the day, it’s the same thing we did four weeks ago, so it shouldn’t change too much.”

On attending the April 22 wedding in Ireland of Rory McIlroy, a longtime teammate on European Ryder Cup teams, to bride Erica Stoll: “Both Angela and I were checking things out very closely, trying to get some ideas.”

On the possibility that Stevie Wonder, a guest/musical performer at McIlroy’s wedding, might be in the mix to serenade Garcia on his wedding day: “Well, no, maybe not that. But there’s no doubt that … we’re thinking about it pretty much every day, and we’re extremely excited about it. It’s a big moment in our lives. You know, I can’t wait for that day to come. But there’s still some work to do.”

On playing this upcoming May stretch without longtime caddie Glen Murray, who was on Garcia’s bag at the Masters but is taking a month-long sabbatical following the birth of his son: “Glen had a little baby boy a week ago, so I decided to give him a month off so he could help his wife take care of the two little ones. But Jose Manuel has been great [in place of Murray]. We’ve known each other since I was probably 10 and he was 12. He’s a good friend of mine. We’ve played a lot of golf together, amateur and professional. We live very close. We’re both from the same area in Spain. We’ve always had a great relationship, so I thought that what better to have on the bag than a good friend that has played on the European Tour for I think 15 or 16 years. He knows what’s going on.”

On the most eye-opening aspect of being the Masters champion: “It’s difficult to pick one. I know how much it means not only to myself and my people but the people around me. Everybody has been extremely excited and wanted to take pictures with me with the jacket on. It’s been a great ride, and we’ve definitely enjoyed every minute of it.”

On wearing the green jacket while executing the ceremonial kickoff for a La Liga Clasico match between Spanish soccer franchises Real Madrid and Barcelona on April 23: “That was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had. I’ve been very fortunate to have amazing cheers and 15,000 or 20,000 people chanting my name at Augusta or Ryder Cups. … But to walk in what I think is the best soccer stadium in the world in El Clasico against Barcelona, which is probably the biggest [soccer] game that exists in this world, and to have 90,000 people chanting your name, that was extremely special. I was nervous and I was only kicking the ball 15 yards. That was very unique and something I will never forget.”

On whether winning the Masters will change him as a golfer in terms of boosting confidence in pressure situations: “I hope it does. I hope it helps me on that aspect. But I don’t know. That’s going to be interesting to see when I get back in it. It doesn’t mean that I’m going to win every one that I get in contention now, but it obviously gives you a little bit of extra confidence, which is always important. Some of those things that helped me win at Augusta, hopefully will help me win later in the year.”

On who deserves the current title of “World’s Best Golfer Without a Major Championship”: “Not me. I don’t know. It’s difficult to say … Obviously, Rickie [Fowler] is up there, and Justin Thomas is great, too. Obviously, Lee [Westwood], for sure. It’s difficult to pick one because there’s so many, so many great ones. So hopefully they’ll all have their chances to get theirs.”

This story was originally published May 13, 2017 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Byron Nelson champ Garcia embraces Masters lessons."