{"id":6266,"date":"2011-09-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-09-22T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beta.golfinspain.es.local\/b\/sergio-garcia\/"},"modified":"2025-05-09T14:06:30","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T12:06:30","slug":"sergio-garcia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/spanish-players\/sergio-garcia\/","title":{"rendered":"Sergio Garc\u00eda"},"content":{"rendered":"\"\"\n

Born: 9 January 1980, Castell\u00f3n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Turned pro: 1999\u00a0<\/strong> (+5.6)<\/em>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dubbed \u201cEl Ni\u00f1o\u201d, Sergio Garc\u00eda rose from 399th to 12th in the world rankings in his first season as a pro, after becoming the only non-professional to make the 1999 US Masters cut (as reigning British Amateur champion). He had four main objectives in that first year, and he achieved them all: secure US and European Tour cards for 2000; win a European Tour event; and make the Ryder Cup team. The first was achieved after just two US starts (joint third and 11th); the second and third when he won the Murphy\u2019s Irish Open; and 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, before captaining Spain to its first victory in the Dunhill Cup \u2013 teamed with Miguel \u00c1ngel Jim\u00e9nez and Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Olaz\u00e1bal in Scotland. He lost a play-off in the 2007 British Open against Padraig Harrington, for what would have been his first major, but bounced back to win the Players Championship (considered the \u201cfifth major\u201d) on the US PGA Tour the following year.<\/p>\n