Sergio Garcia is Europe’s all-time leading Ryder Cup points scorer and has won 25 times across the PGA and European Tours – including the 2017 Masters.
But Hall of Fame member Tony Jacklin believes this is relatively little to show for a player who possessed such prodigious talents.
Jacklin won two Majors in his career and was Ryder Cup captain four times as he helped turn around Europe’s fortunes in matches in the mid 1980s from the one-sided affair that had previously been.
When recently pressed on who believed was the biggest underachiever he had ever seen in golf, he named the Spaniard.
“He’s been one of the best players on the planet for the last 20 years and doesn’t have much to show for it,” said the Englishman. “Seve (Ballesteros) had more courage in his little finger than this lad.
“Don’t get me wrong, Sergio has been a prolific winner, but he had the ability to win double-digit majors.
“Lee Trevino once said, ‘God never gave one man everything.’ Garcia would be one that jumps out to me.”
Team Player
At the 2018 Ryder Cup Garcia overtook Sir Nick Faldo as Europe’s most successful player in the biennial event and Jacklin believes the team atmosphere brought out the best in Garcia.
Garcia has won three times on the European Tour since slipping into the Green Jacket three years ago, but Jacklin feels his best golf is firmly behind him.
“He’s turned 40 now, and I can’t see him being born again. To think that he’s only won one major as a ball-striker like he is, well, it’s mind-boggling.”
