ANDREW BOTH

Sergio Garcia had been all but forgotten by the golfing public, which is just another reason he savoured his victory at the Players Championship.

It speaks volumes of how far Garcia had fallen from public consciousness that a spectator at last month's Masters was overheard questioning whether the Spaniard was even in the field. "I don't think Sergio's playing this week," the man said to his buddies.

He could be forgiven for thinking that, because Garcia was a complete non-entity at the Masters, missing the halfway cut. It was the latest in a series of disappointing displays since his play-off loss at last year's Open.

However, Garcia was helped by nature, which served up four days of extremely strong winds that turned the Players Championship into a shot-making, rather than a putting contest.

And he was clearly the best player in the field from tee to green, hitting more fairways and finding more greens in regulation than anyone else.

It was not until the final round however, that his putting touch came back, at just the right time. The Spaniard sank one of the biggest putts of his life, a seven-footer at the final regulation hole that earned him a play-off with Paul Goydos. Garcia, who shot a 71 to tie Goydos (74) at five-under-par 283, then won with a par at the first extra hole, the par-three 17th, where Goydos found the water with his tee shot.

Garcia, 28, just the second European winner after Sandy Lyle, received $1.71m (around £850,000) for his seventh US PGA Tour victory.

He admitted he was sick of media criticism of his putting. When asked what was the best part of winning, he did not hesitate: "Not having to listen to you guys," he said.

"It definitely gives me something to prove. You're going to criticise the best player in the history of golf Tiger Woods, so how are you not going to criticise somebody else who is smaller than that?

"When I do believe in myself, I think there are not a lot of guys out there that can beat me."

When he is putting well, there can be no doubt of that.