Sergio's Heart (and Game) Is Mending

His legacy is one of smattered popularity. One minute he's slapping an iron with his eyes closed around a tree that Paul Bunyan couldn't have figured a way through, and the next he's doing things that would make even the closest to him scratch their head in troubled wonder.

Sergio Garcia's career as a pro golfer has been confusing, not by his play, but more by his ability to always pick the worst time to do certain things, so the fact that he might have found his game again, and is overcoming some personal problems, is music to professional golf's ears. We've been waiting for this moment, we just weren't sure it would come again.

Garcia admitted that the split between himself and Greg Norman's daughter Morgan-Leigh took a toll on the 29-year-old Spaniard, who admitted before the Masters this year that even he didn't think he could win the tournament. This is the first time since 2003 that Garcia has gone through the end of May on the PGA Tour without a top-10 finish (he is 0-for-7 so far in '09) and he says that a lot of it had to do with the split with the Shark's daughter.

"I definitely feel much better, happier on the course, and I'm definitely more looking forward to playing than maybe I was a month or two ago," Garcia said on the eve of the European Open at the London Club in Kent.

"I haven't been hitting the ball well. I think it's been a mix of probably being a little bit down and not really feeling like playing much. Obviously your head is not in the right place and you're not thinking the right things, and that affects your game because your mentality is not where it should be."

If you were going to list golfers that have the ability to push personal problems out of their mind on the golf course, the list would be very short, and would most definitely not include Garcia. Sergio seems like the type that can't function when things are running through his mind, like the waggle-fest he put on the last time the U.S. Open was played at Bethpage Black.

Also, as a lot of pros can attest to, personal problems can sure derail your short game. Garcia, who lives and dies by the putter, is 114th in putting average this season and 167th in putts per round. A year after winning the Players Championship with arguably the most clutch shot he's hit in his career on the par-3 17th in a playoff against Paul Goydos, Sergio limped to a t-22 that only sniffed the top-20 because of a final round 69.

No matter your love (I'm looking at you, Golf Girl) for Garcia or your distaste for the fourth ranked golfer in the world, everyone can admit that when he plays good golf, tournaments are more interesting for all included.

With his latest female off his mind, Garcia does seem genuinely excited about the upcoming majors.

"Every time I get to the British Open I dream about the Claret Jug," he said. "I've always said it, the British Open is my favorite major.

"I love it, I've been fortunate enough to have two or three good chances at it and I'm looking forward to having even more. Let's see if I can get it at least once."

Coming from one of your toughest critics, here is hoping Garcia can get more than just one. The more he wins, the better this game will be to watch. Just do us all a favor, Sergio, and quit switching putters every damn week.