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PGA Championship preview: Sergio Garcia hoping fifth time's a charm at Baltusrol

2016 has produced three maiden major winners in Danny Willett, Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson

Phil Casey
Thursday 28 July 2016 07:24 BST
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Garcia is aiming to make it five 'newbie' major winners in a row
Garcia is aiming to make it five 'newbie' major winners in a row (Getty)

Sergio Garcia hopes to continue the streak of first-time winners and finally rid himself of the tag of 'best player not to have won a major' this week.

World number one Jason Day won his first major title in last year's US PGA Championship and 2016 has also produced maiden major winners in Danny Willett (Masters), Dustin Johnson (US Open) and Henrik Stenson (Open Championship).

"I would love to make it five in a row," Garcia told a pre-tournament press conference at Baltusrol. "Obviously it would be very nice but we'll see.

"It's a long week. My goal is to play well, to give myself another shot at winning a tournament, winning a major, and then see what I can come up with."

After falling out of contention in the 2012 Masters, Garcia said he felt he was not good enough to win a major and he has recorded a total of 22 top-10 finishes, including ties for fifth at Oakmont and Royal Troon this season.

Before, if I made a couple of bogeys, I would get a little bit angry. Now I seem to take it a little bit easier.

&#13; <p>Sergio Garcia</p>&#13;

"I think that probably the way I look at things now has changed a little bit," the world number 10 added. "Experience and age has definitely made me a little bit calmer out on the course.

"Before, if I made a couple of bogeys, I would get a little bit angry. Now I seem to take it a little bit easier.

"For example, in the Open Championship, the way I was feeling with my swing and everything, probably 12, 15 years ago I would have struggled to maybe finish in the top 30 or 40.

"I knew that maybe I wasn't feeling amazing, but I fought hard, waited for my opportunities and thanks to that I finished top five. That obviously encourages me a lot."

Garcia was also encouraged to see the 40-year-old Stenson win his first major with a record-breaking performance which relegated the 46-year-old Phil Mickelson to second place.

"Henrik, when I saw him on Monday at my event in Switzerland, he said, you know, I'm 40, you're 36, you still have probably 16 more (majors) before you get there," the Spanish Ryder Cup star added.

"So at the end of the day, if you stay healthy, you still can give yourself a lot of chances here and there. Hopefully it will happen. If it doesn't happen, it's not going to change my life.

"I'm not going to go in a cave and stay there until I die because I didn't win a major or anything like that. It's not that serious.

"I'm not going to lie - it would be nice to get at least one. But it's not the end of the world."

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