Sergio Garcia, Spain

Sergio Garcia, affectionately known as El Nino, had a meteoric rise to fame and was expected to become Europe's answer to Tiger Woods. Although Garcia has fallen somewhat short of these expectations, the Spaniard still remains one of the top golfers in the world.

Born in Borriol, Castellon, Spain in January 1980, Garcia began playing golf at an early age. Learning from his father, Victor, a club professional in Madrid. By 1995 the teenager was gaining notoriety, becoming the youngest player to win the European Amateur in 1995 followed by his Boys Amateur Championship win in 1997.

Garcia turned professional in 1999 after shooting the lowest amateur score at the year’s Masters Tournament. The young Spaniard quickly secured his first professional win in his sixth start on the European Tour at the 1999 Irish Open. The Callaway golfer now continued to enjoy success on both the European and PGA Tours, as well as being a member of seven European Ryder Cup teams between 1999 and 2014, with his team winning five of the meetings.

Despite his obvious talents Garcia has a history of just missing out on major titles. Once at the U.S. PGA Championship in 1998 and again in 2008, as well as losing out in a playoff during the 2007 Open Championship to Padraig Harrington. At the 2014 Open Championship, Garcia again placed joint runner-up, 2-strokes behind winner, Rory McIlroy.

In 2008, Garcia won the prestigious 'Fifth Major' at TPC Sawgrass in Florida. While he has not won as many tournaments as some may have predicted, he has retained a good standing in the official world golf rankings throughout his career, reaching as high as number 2 in 2008. Often seen as an aggressive player with a strong long game, many have been quick to cite his short game and in particular his putting as his weak point.

2017 proved to be a pivotal year for Garcia. After 74 major appearances the Callaway golfer won his first major title at the Masters. Beating England’s Justin Rose in a sudden death playoff to finish at 9-under-par. Joining his two mentors, Seve Ballesteros (who died in 2011) and Jose Maria Olazabal to become the third Spanish golfer to slip on the Green Jacket, on what would have been Ballesteros’ 60^th birthday.

Garcia had been the poster child for TaylorMade Golf since his rise to fame, making his announcement to leave the brand for Callaway in January 2018 all the more surprising. Just three weeks after the announcement Garcia won his first tournament of the year at the Singapore Open using the latest Callaway clubs, including the new Callaway Rogue Sub Zero Driver.

Career Wins

1999 - Murphys Irish Open
1999 – Linde German Masters
2001 – MasterCard Colonial
2001 – Trophee Lancome
2001 – Buick Classic
2002 – Mercedes Championships
2002 – Canaries Open de Espana
2004 – Byron Nelson Championship
2004 – Buick Classic
2004 – Mallorca Classic
2005 – Booz Allen Classic
2005 – Omega European Masters
2008 – The Players Championship
2008 – Castello Masters
2008 – HSBC Champions
2011 – Castello Masters
2011 – Andalucia Masters
2012 – Wyndham Championship
2014 – Qatar Masters
2016 - AT&T Bryon Nelson