MIYAZAKI -- As a kid growing up, Sergio Garcia dreamed of being a soccer star for his beloved Real Madrid. With no disrespect to his potential soccer abilities, it is probably a good thing that he chose to become a professional golfer. Since turning pro in 1999, "El Nino" has taken the golfing world by storm. Garcia won the Murphy's Irish Open in only his sixth start as a professional and became the fourth-youngest winner on the European Tour at the age of 19 years and 179 days.
He followed that up with a second place behind Tiger Woods in the 1999 U.S. PGA Championship at Medinah when attempting to be the youngest winner of a Major championship for 129 years, pulling off a "miracle shot" from an impossible lie behind a tree that grabbed all the headlines.
Garcia made his breakthrough on the U.S. PGA Tour in 2001, winning the MasterCard Colonial, and following that with a second victory by capturing the Buick Classic a month later.