Sergio Garcia was only offered the chance to compete at the U.S. Open just days before the beginning of the tournament, and the Spaniard has now added his name to the history books
Sergio Garcia has become the first European golfer in the modern era of the U.S. Open to make 20 cuts at the third major major championship of the campaign.
Garcia booked his weekend spot at Pinehurst No. 2 on Friday, having found himself sat at level-par following his opening two rounds. Amid his fall down the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) in recent years, the LIV Golf star was forced to turn to final qualifying to book his spot at this week’s event.
And the Spaniard failed to make the grade at the 36-hole qualifier in Dallas last month, missing out on a U.S. Open spot in cruel fashion after being the sole loser in a seven-for-six playoff following the end of the two rounds.
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Fortunately for Garcia, his history in the event was rewarded by USGA bosses, after the Fireballs captain was handed a special invite. Keen to make the most of his reprieve, the former Masters champion carded an impressive, bogey-free one-under-par 69 in round one.
In testing conditions, he then followed this up with a one-over 71 to leave him just five shots off the lead heading into the third round. In booking his place for the weekend, Garcia – who has played in every U.S. Open since his debut back in 2000 – wrote his name into the history books.
Following his second round on Friday, Garcia opened up on his qualifying disappointment a month earlier, before going on to receive his USGA call-up. “Well, I felt terrible after the qualifier in Dallas because I had it in my hands twice and I kind of let it slip away,” he said.
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“Then obviously you know that being first reserve you have a good chance of it, but I tried — last week in Houston, I tried not to think about it because I wanted to play well last week there in Houston, and I did. You’re always hoping, but it was really nice to get that call on Monday morning and knowing that we were in.
“Just excited to be here for the 25th time in a row, and I think I made 20 out of 25 cuts or something like that. So I’m very proud of that.” The Spaniard still has work to do heading into the weekend if he is to get himself in contention, but being just five back, revealed he is proud of his performance so far.
“I’m still in there in a great position. I’m here, I’m on the weekend,” Garcia added.I’ve been very fortunate to play, I think this is my 99th major. But I’m realizing now as I get older and you’re not automatically into all of these majors, I’m realising how hard it is to get here. I’m very proud of how I played to get here and the way I played the first two days. It’s not easy out there, so I’m very happy with it.”