ShareThisBy BOB BUTTITTA
When Phil Mickelson captured the 2004 Masters, he discarded the moniker of best player never to win a major.
Since then, the torch has sat waiting to be passed to the next "deserving" player. Well, that time has arrived. Sergio Garcia, please step forward.
The 26-year-old Spaniard has accumulated an impressive risumi, one that includes 12 wins around the world, three Ryder Cup appearances and career earnings on the PGA Tour in excess of $15 million.
Despite all those numbers, Garcia is still standing at the starting line when it comes to wins in golf's four major championships.
It's not that he hasn't had his chances. At this year's British Open he trailed Tiger Woods by one stroke heading into the final round, but was unable to finish the job, firing a final-round 73 and ending in a tie for fifth place.
Less than a month later, Garcia had another chance to walk away with a major championship. Playing at Medinah, the course where he burst on to the world scene with a spectacular performance at the 1999 PGA Championship, Garcia played well, but just not well enough to walk away with the title, won by Woods as of his current run of five consecutive tournament wins.
Garcia has finished in the top five at least once in all four of the majors, including a second-place finish at the 1999 PGA, a tie for third at the 2005 U.S. Open and the 2006 PGA and a fourth-place finish at the 2004 Masters.
Sure, players like Padraig Harrington, Colin Montgomerie, Adam Scott, Chris DiMarco and several others can be considered when it come to best player never to win a major, but none of those players are as talented as Garcia.
After he gave Woods all he could handle at the 1999 PGA, most of us believed it was only a matter of time, and not much time, before Garcia would find his way into the winner's circle at a major.
As the years rolled by and he got close but never sealed the deal, we all said it was a matter of youth. He's still young we said, give him a little more time to mature and it will happen.
Garcia is finishing his eighth year as a professional and he's still winless in majors. After his seventh year on the PGA Tour, Woods had six major championships to his credit.
While it is probably unfair to compare Garcia to Woods, it is safe to say that during Garcia's career he has seen players like Shaun Micheel, Rich Beem, Todd Hamilton and Ben Curtis all win a major title.
Those four together on their best day could not match the raw talent that Garcia possesses, yet somehow they found a way to win a major while Garcia has not.
Garcia's struggles with his putting have caused a lot of his problems in majors. Garcia says he has worked to try and solve his putting inconsistencies, but obviously there is still work to be done.
And that's what he needs to do. As a single, 26-year-old millionaire athlete, it's understandable Garcia enjoys going out and having a good time, He's earned a reputation as being quite the lady's man, and is often spotted around town at nightclubs and bars on tournament weeks.
There's nothing wrong with having some fun, or even a lot of fun for that matter, but Garcia also needs to recognize it's time to focus on his career just a bit more, especially when it comes to majors.
Whether it's fair or not, golfers are judged on how well they play in the majors. The guys who have made the biggest impact in the game, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Tom Watson and, of course Tiger, all dominated them.
There's still plenty of time for Garcia to win multiple majors, but he better get started. If he doesn't, he'll have to live with the distinction of being the best golfer never to win a major.
