JACKSON, Miss. — History has a way of repeating itself, and if it does again this week at the Country Club of Jackson, expect Sergio Garcia to be in contention.
And not just because he won last year.
The 41-year-old Spaniard is back to defend his title at the Sanderson Farms Championship, the second event of the new PGA Tour season, just days after a blowout 19-9 loss to the United States at the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits. But don’t let that result fool you. Garcia went 3-1-0 in Wisconsin, with his lone loss of the week coming to Bryson DeChambeau in Sunday singles. He’s the only Ryder Cup participant teeing it up this week, which believe it or not, bodes well for his success.
When making his first post-Ryder Cup start since 2008, Garcia has finished runner-up (2008), T-9 (2012), T-2 (2014), T-17 (2016) and first (2018). The 10-time member of Team Europe said he feels good this week and last week’s result hasn’t quite hit him yet.
Sanderson Farms: Tee times | Power rankings | Odds
“The course is in great shape again, like it was last year. Probably even better than it was,” said Garcia on Wednesday after a nine-hole practice round. “So very nice to be back here, obviously defending my title after a fun week last week. A week that kind of takes a lot of energy, but at the same time it was amazing. So I’m excited about it and just wanted to get my season off to a good start and see where we are.”
Garcia’s decision to return to Jackson for a second time was “quite simple.” First, he loves to attempt to defend his wins, and will look to do so for the first time in his PGA Tour career this week. Second, he loves that southern hospitality – and the golf course.
The way everyone treated us here was just amazing. And the golf course is just a great golf course,” explained Garcia. “So it’s the kind of golf course that I enjoy coming back to playing and I wish we would play more courses like this on Tour. They’re the kind of courses that make you think a little bit and if you hit a good shot it’s right there, it’s not like tricked up or anything like that and if you don’t hit a good shot then you’re going to struggle to make your par. So it’s just a solid golf course and a great tournament and I’m excited to be back.”
The tournament is continuing to grow every year, and the 11-time Tour winner hopes that more players will take notice of the gem in Jackson.
“I think as people come and play and they see the quality of the golf course and the quality of the tournament it just goes from mouth-to-mouth and then probably more of the top guys want to come and play,” he said. “Obviously it’s as simple as that. If the golf course is so-so, then it kind of pushes back some of the guys, but if you know the golf course is a great golf course and it’s a real nice tournament, then people make a little bit more of an effort to try and come and see it and compete in it.”
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