Sergio Garcia hails Rory McIlroy

After finishing runner-up to Rory McIlroy in his last two events, you could forgive Sergio Garcia for being sick of the sight of the Northern Irishman. Garcia, however, insists McIlroy deserved his WGC-Bridgestone crown after an impressive final round 66.

“Rory played really, really well. He shot quite comfortably 66,” said the Spaniard.

“He’s obviously a really, really good player. You could see it today, the way he was hitting the ball out there, it was very nice.

“It was nice to watch. When he’s playing well, we know how good he can be.”

“At the end of the day, he played really well.” – Sergio Garcia

Throughout his final round, McIlroy drove the ball expertly. Overall, the Open champion led the field in driving distance for the week, averaging 334.8 yards. McIlroy also found the fairway 60.71% of the time off the tee as well, and it didn’t go unnoticed by his Ryder Cup teammate Garcia.

“Everybody saw it,” said the world No.3. “He played very, very well.  He drove the ball miles and very, very straight for the most part.

“He gave himself a lot of birdie looks. I thought, at the end of the day, he played really well.”

Sergio Garcia upbeat despite loss

Garcia, 34, finished runner-up for the third time in his last four events at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational yesterday. However, the world he remained positive in the face of defeat.

“At the end of the day, the only thing I can do is keep trying,” said the Spaniard after being edged out by two shots by McIlroy.

“I think it’s my best week here ever, so I can’t be too disappointed about it.” – Sergio Garcia

“I just had one of those days where it didn’t feel quite as good, and because of that, I wasn’t able to get a little bit closer and maybe win it.”

“Overall, I think it’s still a good week. I think it’s my best week here ever, so I can’t be too disappointed about it.”

Garcia could only muster a 71 in the final round, the joint highest of anyone inside the top 25 in the final round, and the Qatar Masters champ knew it was his work with the putter that let him down.

“I couldn’t get it,” admitted Garcia. “I started second guessing myself every single putt, and because of that, the good putt I hit, I misread, and the bad ones, obviously, weren’t going the right direction either.”