Sergio's Finish 2

__I don't know how that par putt missed. Sergio Garcia

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Mike Lach of Irvine is still bugged by Sergio Garcia's comments following his failure to close at Carnoustie.

I could not believe Sergio's comments after the tournament.  For three days he got every break imaginable and in the end two guys tried to hand it to him on a silver platter and he couldn't close the deal.  Who does he think was hitting those makeable putts that didn't go in.  He complained about slow play and he's one of the slowest...The so called bad break of hitting the pin on 16 was actually a good break.  The ball was going so fast, it would have gone over the green or been 50 to 60 feet away.  At the end of regulation play, he had a one shot lead and needed to hit the green and two-putt and he couldn't do it. I guess that sphincter just got too tight for him.  I'm glad others don't make excuses and look for something or someone to blame.  Monty had the same opportunity last year, didn't come through and took his medicine like a man, so did Phil.  He needs to take a long look in the mirror to see what the problem was.

Mike, I ran into a tour sport psychologist at the airport a couple of days ago and he was talking about the same thing. The psychologist said, "How about Sergio? He can't win. He speaks from his heart and he gets killed for it. Pretty soon he'll learn how to say nothing like the rest of them."

Lot of truth in that. Sergio was like one of us after that round, in agony, reliving every shot, wishing the bounces could have gone the other way. He started out by saying, "I had my opportunities. Unfortunately, I didn't convert," but then the Universal Disappointed Golfer took over. How many times, after losing a match or not qualifying for the club championship, have you hung your head and said: "I hit a great shot on (name the hole). I can't believe it didn't (turn, bounce, stop, roll, go in). I thought I played (well, my game, good enough to win, really tough down the stretch...)." Like us in that situation, Sergio was feeling sorry for himself. Would he be better off not unloading like that? Sure. But, like Monty's heart-on-the-sleeve style, it's what makes him fun to follow.

Go easy. We all agree Sergio should grow up a bit. But not too much. We'd like him to keep talking....

--Bob Carney