‘I received the Masters however kicking-off in entrance of 89,000 at El Clasico was unbelievable’
Sergio Garcia, a life-long Real Madrid fan, won the Masters at Augusta in 2017 – and went on to walk out in front of 89,000 people at the Bernabéu stadium later that year
A former Masters champion has revealed that while winning the Augusta tournament was an incredible moment, walking out in front of 89,000 at El Clasico was an “unbelievable” that gave him “goosebumps”.
Sergio Garcia, 45, picked up the Masters crown in 2017 and was given the role of taking the honorary kick-off between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Bernabéu stadium. For the golfer, who had been a Real Madrid fan since he was a young boy, this was a dream come true.
“I remember the game perfectly,” he told Mirror Sport while reminiscing about the day. “We were losing 2-1, we got a guy sent off, then James Rodriguez scored to make it 2-2 in the 85th, 86th minute.
Then Messi scored in the 93rd minute, the one where he held up the shirt in front of the crowd.”
Garcia explained: “That feeling; I get goosebumps now thinking about it. I remember the feeling of walking onto the pitch with the green jacket on and having the Bernabeu full with 89,000 chanting my name.” He said it was “amazing”, adding: “For me, being a Real Madrid fan and having been to that stadium so many times and have them chanting your name. It was unbelievable.”
In 2017, the golfer became the third Spaniard to win the Masters after rolling his ball in for a birdie in the playoff. He said at the time: “I don’t feel any different. I’m obviously thrilled about what has happened, but I’m still the same goofy guy, so that’s not going to change.”
He said that it had crossed his mind “a few times” that he might never win the tournament: “I’ve had so many good chances, and either I lost them or someone has done something extraordinary to beat me.” However, Garcia said at the time: “But lately, for whatever reason, maybe it’s to do with age, I’ve been thinking a little bit more positively about everything.
Garcia turned professional in 1999 and played on the European Tour and the PGA Tour, before joining LIV Golf in 2022. He has two children, Azalea and Enzo, with his wife Angelo. The couple named their daughter, who was born in 2018, after the 13th hole at the Augusta National – where Garcia made a par save in the final round – NBC Sports reported.
Speaking about the story behind his daughter’s name, Garcia said: “We started looking at different names from here, related to Augusta, obviously looked at Georgia. We looked at Magnolia, Holly, different ones, but we really liked Azalea, for different reasons.
“First of all, because we thought it was a very pretty name. You write it the same way in English and in Spanish, which is great, and also because it’s the hole that kind of turned things around in the final round and kind of got me going, to be able to win the Masters last year.”
