THE OVERVIEW By Cameron Morfit, PGATOUR.COM Seemingly everyone had at one time or another given up on the idea of Sergio Garcia winning a major. Even Garcia. And then, in his 74th major championship start, it happened, Garcia outlasting Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff to win the Masters on what would have been the 60th birthday of Seve Ballesteros. Garcia had authored yet another golfing fairytale at Augusta.  But what happens after the fairytale? The short answer is that Garcia, 37, doesn’t seem to be slowing down. If anything, the opposite might be true. He got married, to Angela Akins Garcia, and the two announced that they are expecting their first child in March. And professionally, Garcia seems determined not to simply ride off into the sunset in his green jacket. (He wore it well at Wimbledon, though.) In September, Garcia entered the BMW Championship at 34th in the FedExCup standings and on the outside looking in for the season-ending TOUR Championship at East Lake. In the past, that might have been the beginning of the end, but not for Garcia 2.0. He and his wife remained unmovable in their optimism. They went to Conway Farms fully anticipating a two-week trip: Chicago, followed by Atlanta, home of East Lake Golf Club. And so it was, as Garcia’s T12 at the BMW got him in the top 30 and punched his ticket to Atlanta. Next on the to-do list for the 10-time PGA TOUR winner: more wins, and potentially getting fitted for his ninth Ryder Cup team. BY THE NUMBERS How Sergio Garcia ranked in Strokes Gained statistics during his last full season on the PGA TOUR. FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: N/A Playoff appearances: 11 TOUR Championship appearances: 6 Best result: 3rd (2008) INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDERS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Sergio Garcia in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Ben Everill With his long-awaited major championship draped over his shoulders and a happy new life away from the golf course, the biggest question on Sergio is how much desire he has to work hard and add more to his resume. Having accomplished his dreams, will he surge for more or be content to rely on his super talent to turn up once in a while? One thing is for sure – he is still super fun to watch. Click here to follow Ben on Twitter FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton In Sergio’s storied career filled with scares and scars, it may never get any better than 2017. His breakthrough at the Masters hinted that maybe there really are guarantees for the gifted, but it and his other two titles wouldn’t have meant as much without the foundation of finding his wife. With his personal life guiding the way, the 37-year-old Spaniard performed as we hoped he would with precisely that balance outside the ropes. Still, and the green jacket aside, it wasn’t his best season statistically on the PGA TOUR, so take it easy on your enthusiasm because 2017 was a bonus and we know his limits — the most important of which is that he authors one of the lightest schedules of all full-time members. Click here to follow Rob on Twitter EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall Garcia is all but guaranteed to be a Callaway staffer in 2018 after securing his first major title at the Masters. The Spaniard parted ways with TaylorMade after 15 years and slowly began to add Callaway equipment to the bag, starting with a Toulon Design putter at the Dell Technologies Championship. He recently inserted a full set of Apex MB irons and the company’s GBB Epic driver at the DP World Tour Championship. Click here to follow Jonathan on Twitter STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte Much like his game, Sergio’s style continues to mature. He has taken his fashion to another level with more refined looks and well-balanced colors. Even though an equipment change appears to be a certainty in 2018 for Garcia, expect him to continue wearing Adidas’ three-stripes. Click here to follow Greg on Twitter
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