García's season comes to a head

Golf is a sport played in the hands and in the mind. "It's 80 percent mental," says Álvaro Quirós, the big-hitting Dubai Desert Classic champion who has enjoyed the benefits of sports psychology. Neither the potency of Quirós nor the talent of Rory McIlroy are sufficient without control of the mind.

"Twenty years ago, being technically good was enough for a golfer," says Óscar del Río, a sports psychologist who has specialized in golf for 15 years. "Ten years ago, physical preparation began to make a difference. Today, the technical and physical aspects are so equal among players that the difference is in the head. They all play below par in training. The secret is doing it under maximum pressure."

Since he rocketed to fame in 1999, Sergio García has had golf in his hands. He has been world number two and has come within a millimeter of winning a major. Knowing what has been lacking for him to be crowned is a mystery. He has worked on his putting, but has never paid special attention to psychological preparation.

"As a golfer, and spending time with him, you can see he's missing something," says Quirós. "But I don't talk with him about his mental strategy. Sergio has so much talent... When somebody has such technique, sometimes they don't think about mental exercise. It's what you can tell from outside. Nobody is in his head."

The 18th-hole putt is a significant moment. The last shot of the day, a golfer can hone his concentration or let it slip in the moment after a day's work done. For García this shot is often an uphill struggle. It has sometimes cost him a major. The Spaniard hit rock bottom a few months ago. His last titles came in 2008, a sporting age ago. He had to qualify for the US Open this year and thus qualify for the British Open through that tournament. He achieved his goals, finishing seventh at the Congressional Country Club, his best result since 2008.

"Golf is returning to my hands," García says. His age is no obstacle. García is 31; the average age of a first-time major winner is 34. In the USA people remember a missed putt on the 18th on the second day," says Quirós. "But he was holing putts of 12 or 15 meters, saving bogeys and playing with confidence. Sergio is getting back to his best, and he is very happy playing golf again. [...] Will Sergio win a major? For sure. He's young. If things pan out, he'll win five or six. People think he is not a winner, but the golf world knows what it takes to be at the top."