By Victor Garcia.
I have been Sergio’s teacher since he started playing. Even as a little boy he played with tremendous feeling and emotion. I’ve always encouraged it because, first, it is who he is. But second, it is the way he most enjoys the game. I know that the more he enjoys the game, the better it will be for him as a player.
Sergio’s emotions all come from a central desire to excel. His drive, combined with his talent, is why he has been able to accomplish so many exceptional things at a young age. The occasions when his emotional drive is at its highest – perhaps most notably during the Ryder Cup – is usually when he plays his best.
Sergio understands that emotion is a powerful force. Both the excitement from a good shot and the anger from a poor one have to be channelled into a sharper focus on the next shot. That’s not always easy for a young man to do in a game that can be as frustrating as golf, and there have been times when impatience has hurt his performance. But Sergio is brave by nature, and he gets better every week at dealing with adversity.
That doesn’t mean Sergio is going to be less demonstrative. He shows his feelings not to get attention or to bother other players, but because they are natural expressions.
As a regular member of his gallery, I know that’s a big reason people love to watch him.