GOLF: Sergio Garcia survived the perils of El Cortijo's answer to Amen Corner to become the first home winner of the Spanish Open for seven years yesterday.
Many have come a cropper on Augusta National's infamous home straight, and, as with the Masters, holes 12, 13, 15 and 16 hold most terrors on the quirky course on Gran Canaria.
The 22-year-old Garcia had four strokes to spare over Italy's Emanuele Canonica after finishing 13 under par on 275 to pick up £176,000 prize but he had seen a cosy seven-stroke advantage whittled down to a single stroke with five to play.
Garcia's troubles began at the uphill 12th, almost driveable at 329 yards but a nightmare in yesterday's bruising wind. As on Friday he drove out of bounds, having to settle for a double-bogey six.
The par three 13th plunges almost vertically to the green below where the wind direction is fiendishly deceptive. Garcia missed the putting surface and took four.
Now only one clear of Swede Carl Pettersson, winner of the Portuguese Open three weeks earlier, with the torments of the 15th and 16th lurking ahead victory was far from certain.
But there was no pressing the panic button by the world number five, who matched Pettersson's birdie at the 14th by blasting his tee shot a few feet off the green 298 yards distant.
He bogeyed the next into the teeth of the gale when his attempt to cut the ball into the green ended 20 yards left, from where he pitched through the putting surface into a bunker. The par five 16th, with water left and right, yielded a four.
Garcia insisted: "I knew I was only one ahead at one stage but I never thought I would lose it. I knew what I had to do. I was in the driving seat even though it looked like I wasn't for a while.
"I knew if I kept hitting good shots, stayed patient and played smart I would be fine."
Garcia, just one year old, when Severiano Ballesteros won the first of his three Spanish opens in 1981, admitted: "I've looked forward to winning the open of my home country and it gives me great confidence for the rest of the year."
Pettersson's challenge ended when his two iron from a bunker at the 15th ended in the water and he ran up a double-bogey six.
England's Greg Owen shot 72 to take third place a stroke behind Canonica on 280 with birdies at the long 16th, where he hit the green with a two iron, and short 17th where he his a nine iron to eight feet.
The Mansfield man, only one behind Garcia at half way, ended with a bogey and admitted endless waits on the tee in a round that took five hours and 25 minutes did nothing to help his concentration.
Rafael Cabrera, a 17-year-old local amateur who looks every inch another Garcia in the making, was poised to finish runner-up after birdie threes at the 11th, 12th and 15th but he closed with two bogeys to end joint fourth on 281 with Pettersson.
(Brit unless stated, Par 72)
(x) denotes amateurs
275 S Garcia (Spa) 67 68 67 73 (£176,360)
279 E Canonica (Ita) 68 69 70 72 (£117,571)
280 G Owen 67 69 72 72 (£66,240)
281 C Pettersson (Swe) 68 72 69 72 (£52,908), (x) R Cabrera (Spa) 69 72 67 73
283 R Gonzalez (Arg) 68 75 70 70, A Forsbrand (Swe) 70 74 68 71 (£40,950)
284 R Goosen (Rsa) 73 73 71 67, D Gilford 66 77 71 70 (£29,099 each)
285 I Poulter 70 72 71 72, D Drysdale 72 72 69 72, K Ferrie 69 71 72 73, S Tinning (Den) 71 73 68 73, M Siem (Ger) 67 71 72 75, D De Vooght (Bel) 70 69 71 75, S Little 68 72 70 75, I Hutchings (Rsa) 70 71 69 75
286 M Angel Jimenez (Spa) 71 72 72 71, J M Carriles (Spa) 69 73 72 72, G Brand Jnr 70 72 70 74
287 F Jacobson (Swe) 71 73 70 73, C Suneson (Spa) 68 70 73 76, W Bennett 69 69 72 77, M Roe 68 73 69 77, D Terblanche (Rsa) 69 72 69 77
288 S Scahill (Nzl) 72 69 76 71, D Lynn 73 73 72 70, I Garbutt 68 75 73 72, J Sandelin (Swe) 68 77 69 74, S Kjeldsen (Den) 69 71 73 75
289 B Dredge 72 74 71 72, M Reale (Ita) 70 74 73 72, F Roca (Spa) 71 75 70 73, C Rodiles (Spa) 68 75 72 74, M Pilkington 69 75 74 71, K Eriksson (Swe) 72 72 74 71, T Johnstone (Zim) 73 70 71 75
290 I Garrido (Spa) 73 73 71 73, J Donaldson 72 74 71 73, R Chapman 73 72 72 73, J Moseley (Aus) 71 71 75 73, D Lee 75 69 73 73, S Hansen (Den) 66 78 72 74, M Farry (Fra) 70 69 75 76, M Foster 71 72 77 70, A Hansen (Den) 71 71 72 76
291 N Dougherty 71 74 72 74, P Baker 72 67 76 76, A Oldcorn 69 71 75 76, I Pyman 72 74 73 72, S Walker 69 72 69 72
292 J Spence 67 73 74 78, H Bjornstad (Nor) 74 72 74 72
293 C Pottier (Fra) 69 73 75 76, H Stenson (Swe) 72 73 73 75, E de la Riva (Spa) 73 73 73 74
294 S P Webster 68 77 73 76, A Mednick (Swe) 70 74 75 75
295 M Scarpa (Ita) 71 74 72 78, M Brier (Aut) 71 72 74 78, G Orr 68 72 76 79, A Coltart 72 73 71 79, R-J Derksen (Ned) 73 71 76 75, P Fowler (Aus) 71 74 78 72
296 C Gane 72 72 73 79, G Hamerton 71 74 73 78, R Russell 74 67 75 80, B Teilleria (Fra) 69 75 72 80, M Ilonen (Fin) 70 76 74 76
297 A Marshall 74 72 72 79, M Olander (Swe) 72 71 72 82, G Evans 71 72 75 79
298 S Torrance 71 75 75 77, N Vanhootegem (Bel) 72 73 76 77, R Wessels (Rsa) 72 72 78 76
299 J Hugo (Rsa) 70 74 76 79, J Rivero (Spa) 75 69 76 79
300 V Phillips 71 73 74 82, M Cort 70 75 75 80
301 S Luna (Spa) 76 70 78 77, R Winchester 73 73 79 76
303 G Havret (Fra) 71 72 80 80, R Bland 71 73 80 79
308 (x) A Garcia (Spa) 73 73 81 81
