Doing 'little things' well helps Garcia get it right

PONTE VEDRA BEACH • When Sergio Garcia was asked on Thursday how he ended up leading the Players Championship with a first-round seven-under 65, the Spaniard raised his right hand and held his thumb and index finger about a quarter-inch apart.

"It's the littlest things - tiny little things - that can make a round go from wrong to right," the 2008 champion here said. "It doesn't take much. This golf course just suits my eye. I feel more comfortable."

Little things have been on Garcia's mind for a while, ever since a positive coronavirus test in November forced him to withdraw from the Masters just days before the tournament, which in 2017 yielded his greatest triumph in the game.

The world No. 43 did not play again until mid-January, although part of that gap was a typical off-season lay-off.

Garcia's performances have been nondescript this year, and with the next Masters - back in its regular spot - only weeks away, he is plotting a more cautious strategy to avoid reinfection with the virus, however slight that risk.

Fans have returned to PGA Tour events, with as many as 10,000 welcome each day at the Players Championship this week, and Garcia is happy for the energy the spectators bring. But he is wary, too.

"I would love to get closer to the fans, but there's too much at risk for us. And if we get Covid, we pay the price. No one else does. So we have to be very careful as the fans come back into our game," the 41-year-old said.

Garcia, who had a two-stroke lead over American Brian Harman (67) on Thursday when play was halted because of darkness, also said he would skip the April 1-4 Texas Open in San Antonio, the last PGA Tour event before the Masters.

Last year, he had played in the Houston Open, where he missed the cut and began to notice cold-like symptoms shortly thereafter.

"This golf course just suits my eye," said Garcia with a grin. "I feel more comfortable."

Defending champion Rory McIlroy, who was part of the same threesome, quadruple-bogeyed the 18th hole en route to shooting a seven-over 79.

The four-time Major champion, who has not won since the 2019 WGC-HSBC Championship in Shanghai, later admitted "it wasn't a very good day".

Addressing the subject of the Northern Irishman's play, Garcia once again used his right thumb and index finger to make a point.

"You don't have to be that far off to get penalised a lot," he said. "Just a little bit off."

NYTIMES