Sergio Garcia

He began 1999 as a schoolboy amateur dubbed “El Niño”, ranked 399th in the world, and ended the year as a fully-fledged titan on the international circuit - in the lofty peaks of 12th place. If Tiger Woods was, predictably, the dominating force of the final season of the 20th century, Sergio García was the undoubted sensation of the year. Competing at Augusta as the reigning British Amateur champion, he was the only non-professional to make the US Masters cut (in joint 38th place) and one month later he made his professional debut in the Spanish Open. A relatively inauspicious share of 25th place gave little indication of the furore to follow, and the extraordinary fulfilment of his four objectives in 1999: secure US and European Tour cards for 2000; win a European Tour event; and make the Ryder Cup team. The first objective was achieved after just two US starts (joint third and 11th); the second and third when he won the Murphy’s Irish Open; and (most incredible of all) the fourth when he finished second, just one stroke behind the winner Tiger Woods, in the US PGA Championship. He thus became the youngest player to tee up in a Ryder Cup and acquitted himself brilliantly before moving on to Scotland to captain Spain to its first victory in the Dunhill Cup - teamed with Miguel Angel Jimenez and José María Olazabal. By the end of the year he was third in the European Tour rankings, ahead of illustrious players who had competed in twice as many tournaments throughout the season.
The results were less spectacular in 2000, as he combined his time between the European and US Tours, but the highlight of his season came in the “Battle of Bighorn” in August, when he beat Tiger Woods by one hole in a made-for-TV match in California and collected a cheque for $1.1 million.
After a slow start to 2001, he won twice on the US Tour within four starts, to move to fifth in the world rankings, then joined Ballesteros, Olazabal and Jimenez as a winner of the select-field Trophèe Lancôme.