Sergio Garcia didn’t have the firepower of the final-round 63 Peter Malnati threw at him, but the 2017 Masters champion relied on the part of his game that he has long been known for – his ball-striking – to rally over the back nine to win the Sanderson Farms Championship for his first win on the PGA Tour since that Masters and his 11th overall.
Garcia hit two incredible shots over the final five holes. Standing two behind Malnati as he played the par-5 14th, Garcia ripped a 235-metre 3-wood with his trademark fade to three-and-a-half feet, which led to an eagle that erased the deficit. The club Garcia used to hit that shot was a 14-degree TaylorMade SIM 3-wood.
Garcia then ended things by staking an iron shot to kick-in range from 156 metres on the par-4 finishing hole at the Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi to avoid a playoff with Malnati. Garcia is an equipment free agent and had been using Ping’s Blueprint irons earlier this season before changing to TaylorMade’s P7MB irons. This week, however, Garcia was back with the Ping Blueprints, which he used to rank third in strokes gained/approach-the-green, picking up more than seven shots on the field while also leading the field in greens in regulation, missing just 12 greens over 72 holes.
Helping set Garcia up was the fact he also led the field in strokes gained/off-the-tee, picking up more than five shots on the field with his TaylorMade SIM driver with a Fujikura Ventus shaft. Combined those two strengths allowed Garcia to also lead the field in strokes gained/tee-to-green.
And walk away with a much sought-after win as well.
What Sergio Garcia had in the bag at the 2020 Sanderson Farms Championship:
Ball: TaylorMade TP5
Driver: TaylorMade SIM, 9 degrees
3-wood: TaylorMade SIM, 14 degrees
5-wood: TaylorMade SIM, 14 degrees
Irons (3-PW): Ping Blueprint
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (52, 58 degrees)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider X
