The 36-year-old Spaniard finally ended his wait for a first major title at Augusta National.
On the day golfing legend Seve Ballesteros would have turned 60 years old, Sergio Garcia became the third Spaniard to win the Masters and won his first ever major championship at the 74th time of asking.
At the start of the day it was expected that the quartet of Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia would battle it out but a short while in it became apparent it was going to be a two horse race between the latter.
After overturning an early three stroke deficit, Rose was in control and leading by two shots after 15 holes. It was the 16th hole that seemed to be the turning point. Rose missed a birdie putt and after a wayward tee shot, Garcia managed to grind out a par. Momentum started to swing.
The Englishman then bogeyed the 17th and missed a birdie attempt on the last that by all accounts looked as if it was destined to go in, leaving Garcia with a five footer for victory, but to his frustration it didn't break and the ball rolled past the hole. The Ryder Cup teammates were tied leaders on -9 and headed to a play off.
Garcia held his nerve the better of the two - Rose’s tee shot landed off the fairway. He ended up with a bogey, giving García two putts from 10 feet to get his hands on the green jacket. He only needed one.
A major championship has long been in the pipeline for Garcia, ever since bursting onto the scene in 1999, where he pushed Tiger Woods all the way in the PGA Championship as a 19-year-old. His overall record before the 2017 Masters read 22 top 10 finishes, 12 top 5 finishes and runner up an agonising four times.
"It's been a long time coming," said Garcia. “To join Seve and Jose - my two idols - is something amazing."
