The green jacket better fit well on Sergio Garcia — tailors had 19 years to get it right.
Garcia defeated Justin Rose on the first playoff hole to win the Masters championship, his first major title in 74 appearances during his 19-year PGA career.
Garcia birdied the par-4 18th to finish 10 under and clinch the title.
Garcia was atop the leaderboard at 8 under after three holes, but Rose birdied three straight holes to tie him. Garcia bogeyed No. 10 and 11 to give Rose the lead, but the Spaniard made huge shots down the stretch to keep himself in it.
No shots were bigger than the par shot he sank on 13 despite a penalty stroke to remain at 6 under.
On the reverse side, we saw Garcia almost give away a major — again. He had a short, three-foot putt on the 72nd hole to beat Rose on 18, but he pushed it wide and settled for par.
Garcia burst onto the golf scene at the 1999 PGA Championship when he went toe-to-toe with Tiger Woods. At that point, many thought Garcia would rack up majors in his career. It hasn’t gone as planned, but Garcia’s not a bust by any means. He now has nine career wins, 36 top-3 finishes and 94 top-10 finishes. That’s some pretty impressive stuff.
Masters live updates
Look back on some of the day’s highlights and a little ways down, you can follow the post-match coverage from Augusta below.
12:37: Justin Thomas, despite entering the day +4, was rearing to go for the final round.
1:41: Ernie Els is the first golfer finished in the final round, going +6 to finish with a rough +20. Els had an even tougher +11 on Saturday.
2:02: Phil Mickelson had an impressive shot that set him up for eagle on hole 2. He is +1 for the day, and +3 total.
3:27: Jordan Spieth entered the day in good position, just two strokes back of the lead at four under. But he’s bogeyed two of the first three holes for the first time in his Masters career, and sits at three under through three holes.
3:58: Sergio Garcia currently leads by three strokes through five holes in the final round. Garcia has never own a major in 73 (!) tries.
4:26: Justin Rose is roaring back, trying to ensure Garcia’s winless treak continues. After birdying the seventh hole, he’s now just one shot back of Garcia at -7.
4:58: Rose and Garcia are now tied through nine holes at -8. Should be an epic finish.
5:15: Jordan Spieth just hit one into the water on hole 12, the same hole he fell apart on at last year’s Masters. He’s +3 today, and likely out of contention.
5:31: Matt Kuchar is surging into contention, with an ace of 16 getting him to five under.
5:39: After five holes, Rose trailed Garcia by three strokes. Now, after 12, Rose leads by two. Sergio now has an uphill climb after bogeying 10 and 11.
6:15: After a recovery by Garcia following hitting the ball into a hazard in 13, Sergio has steadied birdying 14 to now only trail Rose by one stroke with four holes left.
6:29: Garcia made an eagle on 15 to get to 9 under. Rose made a birdie to tie him at 9 under.
6:36: Rose birdied 16 to get to 10 under. Garcia missed a short birdie putt.
6:54 : Rose and Garcia are tied going into 18. Get your popcorn ready.
7:15: Garcia misses a short putt. We’re heading to playoff.
7:35: That’s it! Garcia is the 2017 Masters champion!
