Illness puts things in perspective for Garcia

A LIFE-THREATENING illness to a friend has put golf into perspective for Sergio Garcia.

Still waiting for his first major title after finishing joint third in the US Open - his ninth top 10 placing - Garcia spoke afterwards about his changed attitude.

“I have a friend that is only 24 and he’s got lung cancer,” said the 25-year-old Spaniard.

“To see those things really wakes you up. You don’t want to make a bogey, but it makes you realise it’s really not that bad.”

Garcia was told by caddie Glen Murray that mentally it was the best he had seen him in a major in their time together. “That’s nice. I guess you learn. It’s the way you handle things, the way you focus, the way you approach the game.”

A third-round 75 was Garcia’s undoing, leaving him too much ground to make up on a course yielding so few birdies. His closing 70 was only one off the low score of the day, but two of the players who shot 69 were winner Michael Campbell and second-placed Tiger Woods.

World number one Woods came close to keeping his grand slam dream alive, but now has to content himself with trying for a 10th major at the Open at St Andrews in three weeks.

Having won there by eight in 2000 and having finished first and second in the first two majors of this season he will be a hot favourite, of course.

“They were some of the most difficult pins I’ve ever seen, but I never felt comfortable with my putter all week,” he said.

“My quality of shots has got better since Augusta, though, and that’s exciting. I’ve taken some giant strides and for all the people that have slammed me for making the changes now you understand why I did it.”

But it still will be noted that at the Masters he bogeyed the last two holes to fall into a play-off and at Pinehurst he bogeyed the 70th and 71st holes and lost by two. And that still compared favourably, of course, to world number five Retief Goosen and Britain’s top two hopes Lee Westwood and Luke Donald. They closed with 81, 79 and 80 respectively.