Philip Reidlistens as the Spaniard looks back on the British Open

Time heals, they say. Yesterday, the tears of his failings of last month washed away, a fresh-faced Sergio Garcia finalised his preparations for the US PGA championship in the belief his fragility had been mended. After the drama of Carnoustie, a place that has attempted to leave indelible mental scars, the Spaniard sought to show he has recovered from that inability to close the deal in the British Open.

Back in 1999, Garcia left Carnoustie in tears after missing the cut in the Open. Last month, he left in tears - and appearing ungracious with his post-round comments - after losing out in a play-off for the Claret Jug to Padraig Harrington.

Yesterday, he sought to put his position in perspective: "It wasn't easy, the first couple of days after, but you get over it."

Indeed, when his father and coach, Victor, embraced his son that evening in Carnoustie, he too was close to tears. What words of comfort did he have for his son?

"He said, 'well played, you did all that you could. You did everything right. Unfortunately it just wasn't meant to happen'," recalled Garcia.

Ironically, Garcia's best finish in the US PGA came at Medinah in 1999 shortly after his humiliation at Carnoustie. On that occasion, he finished a stroke behind Tiger Woods, famously playing his approach to the 16th from the bottom of a tree trunk and then hopping, skipping and jumping his way up the fairway after the ball.

But Garcia doesn't see any relevance to the aftermath of Carnoustie then and this year.

"It's a different situation. I didn't win the British Open. Padraig did, and he deserved it. He played very, very well all week. But I was the only one that had the winning putt in regulation. And, to me, that means a lot. I actually had a winning putt. I hit a great putt, unfortunately it didn't go in . . . the situation is different and hopefully I can keep playing the way I've been playing. There were a lot of positives and I've just got to do the same this week, play within myself and hopefully I'll have a shot at winning the PGA."

The stark statistic, whether Garcia likes it or not, is he has now played in 35 majors; and, although he has had his close calls, and none more so than last month at Carnoustie, he has failed to win a major. "The guy that finishes second is the first loser, so it is hard sometimes. But you have got to move on. I hope I have the winning putt here again and, whatever happens, at least if I'm in that position, I'll be happy with it."

Yesterday, Garcia was asked if he regretted making what seemed ungracious comments in the immediate aftermath of the British Open play-off loss. "Yeah, I was emotional. I opened myself to you guys and I said what I felt. I didn't want to take anything out of Padraig winning the Open. I felt like I played well enough to win and, unfortunately, it didn't happen. Definitely if a couple of breaks had gone my way, it would have been a different story."

He added: "I think (the Open experience) is really going to help me in the future and to be a lot more calm, a lot more within myself when I get in that position. I don't have a doubt it will happen . . . I should have won at least more than one by now . . ."

If Garcia needed any further encouragement to get over his winless streak in majors, it came from Phil Mickelson, who also had endured near misses: "I believe, just as Sergio believes, it is just a matter of time. He's too good a player for it not to happen."