Through the years with Sergio Garcia
By Bill Felber
2002 Mercedes Tournament of Champions
As a two-time winner in 2001, Garcia earned an invitation to the season-opening 2002 Mercedes Tournament of Champions at Kapalua on the island of Maui.
As might be expected of a champions-only event, the field blushed with talent. Masters champion Woods, and British Open champion Duval and PGA champion David Toms were all lined up to play, as were Goosen, the U.S. Open champion, and Furyk.
At the outset, Garcia went nowhere. His first round even par 73 left him tied for 25th in the 32-player field, a healthy 10 strokes behind Mike Weir at 63.
He followed with rounds of 69 and 68 moved him up the money ladder, but at 210 he remained tied with Duval four strokes behind Scott Verplank and Kenny Perry entering Sunday’s final round.
And again, as it had at Colonial, Garcia magic unfolded during that final round. Finishing ahead of the leaders, he sailed through a 64 that left him at 274 and waited to see whether any of the five players who began the day ahead of him on the leader board could hold on.
Verplank was the first to fall back, shooting 73 and leaving him two behind. Chris DiMarco shot 71 and found himself four behind. Perry, the other co-leader, put together a 69, one stroke behind.
Of all the challengers, only Toms carried the fight to the finish. Three strokes ahead of Garcia when the day began, he birdied four of the final six holes but missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th that would have given him the title.
The two contenders retreated to the 18th tee to settle the issue, and Garcia won it with a birdie. “You can’t dream of a better way to start the year,” he said.