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MUSSELBURGH, Scotland, July 12 (Reuters) - Sergio Garcia’s long game may be one of the best in the world but his rankings slide will continue unless he improves his woeful putting, according to former European Ryder Cup captain Tony Jacklin.
The 30-year-old Spaniard has plunged from second to 44th in the rankings since his last victory at the Champions Tournament in China in November 2008 and Jacklin said his touch on the greens was to blame.
“He (Garcia) can’t putt and if you can’t putt you can’t play golf,” Jacklin told Reuters in an interview on Monday at Musselburgh Links, a nine-hole layout that boasts it is the ‘world’s oldest course’.
“His ball-striking is as good as it ever was but the putting wears you down. His body language when he gets on the green and when he putts speaks volumes.
“I feel bad for him but with all that talent, the frustration level must be enormous,” added the 1969 British Open and 1970 U.S. Open champion.
Jacklin, who played with old hickory clubs on Monday ahead of his appearance in Wednesday’s four-hole Champions Challenge at St Andrews to be held on the eve of the 150th anniversary British Open, said it was imperative top players putted well.
“Putting is 60 percent of what happens today, even more today than it was in my day because the greens are cut better and people wear soft spikes,” said the 66-year-old Briton.
“Players these days rarely miss from short distance and if you do, you just can’t compete. One poor putt a round is four shots in a tournament so you can’t mess around.”
Jacklin, who lost only one of his four Ryder Cup matches as captain of Europe between 1983-89, said world number one Tiger Woods was a prime example of a consistent putter.
WOW FACTOR
“I guess nobody does it all the time but Tiger did it more often than anybody I saw, just one putt after another through a round and you think ‘wow, he made five or six that could’ve been missed—he shot a 69 and it could easily have been a 75’.
“That’s six shots in a round and if you do that four times in a tournament, that’s 24 shots. It could be the difference between missing and making the cut,” said Jacklin.
Garcia, yet to win his first major despite 15 top-10 finishes, starts his Open campaign on Thursday in a three-ball with American Steve Stricker and Hiroyuki Fujita of Japan.
Jacklin believes the Spaniard needs expert coaching to solve his putting woes.
“If Sergio never hits another practice shot in his life he will still have a great long game because it’s automatic for him,” said the twice major winner who also experienced putting problems during his own glittering career.
“You have a window of opportunity (with bad putting) when after a certain length of time it eats into your psyche, your soul. Maybe Sergio has reached that point.
“Other than listening to someone like Dave Stockton, who world number two Phil Mickelson went to and who has four or five points to get across—there’s nothing like making a good putt to give you the confidence back.
“Expectation levels come down when you mess up a putt and when you’ve had so many bad experiences you’re almost anticipating another one.”
--By Tony Jimenez
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