In more ways than one, Sergio Garcia was in unfamiliar territory Sunday afternoon at the Masters.
First, he was being cheered. Yes, one of golf's biggest whiners was suddenly the crowd favorite at Augusta National, and he was reacting to it with class and dignity.
Second, in his 74th major event, he was about to win one for the first time.
A triumphant Garcia even referenced the old Garcia afterward, admitting he had blamed his caddie, Glen Murray, for missed shots in the past.
They once took an 18-month break from each other, but Murray, who caddied for him Sunday, has been his primary caddie.
Once Garcia blamed Tiger Woods, but then they had what has been described as the biggest feud in the history of golf.
Garcia was supposed to challenge Woods but couldn't. That was when Woods was simply the world's best golfer, unlike now, when Woods is the most injured and unimportant.
Garcia, 37, made a boatload of money, but couldn't win the big one until Sunday and now some of the spotlight is being focused on his fiancee Angela Akins, 31, who is credited for being a stabilizing figure in his life.
She definitely has the background to have a positive impact on a professional athlete, especially a golfer.
She played golf at TCU before transferring to her beloved Texas, where her father, a former quarterback, was 27-9 as a Wishbone/option starter for Darrell Royal.
And her father, Marty Akins, played a small role in the Arkansas Razorbacks making it to the 1976 Cotton Bowl.
Texas beat Arkansas early in the 1975 season, but Akins got hurt on the first play of Texas' game against Texas A&M, and the Aggies, who lost to Arkansas, beat the Longhorns. The Razorbacks ended up representing the old Southwest Conference in the Cotton Bowl, where they beat Georgia 31-10.
Marty Akins' dad, Ray (Angela's grandfather) was a legendary Texas high school coach. Marty and Ray Akins were the first father and son inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
Angela's cousin is New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who was the featured speaker at the All-Arkansas Preps banquet a couple of years ago.
Angela also worked as an on-air commentator and reporter for the Golf Channel.
Everyone has heard the old saying, "Behind every good man is a good woman," and in this case it appears Garcia's fiancee has helped him mature and accept responsibility.
Garcia showed as much after avoiding disaster and salvaging par at No. 13. He calmed down and played as good as he's probably ever played. Yes, he could have finished it without an extra hole if he had dropped a putt on the 72nd hole, but the green simply wasn't breaking the way he thought, and it cost Justin Rose, too.
Rose had a bad drive on the playoff hole, and it paved the way for Garcia, who responded to the crowd's support with animated enthusiasm.
The thing most noticed over the final five holes of regulation and in the playoff, was that Garcia and Rose were pulling for each other.
Their caddies were friendly, the golfers were friendly and nowhere to be found was Woods, who almost immediately congratulated Garcia on social media for his victory.
Perhaps the thorn in Garcia's side was always Woods. Garcia was expected to beat the one golfer that rarely lost.
Woods was the face of the PGA and Garcia was one of many challengers.
But Garcia was the one who stood up, sometimes wrongly.
Garcia blamed Woods for causing the gallery to distract him when they were paired together during the third round of 2013 Players Championship, and he had to apologize to Woods a few weeks later after an off-the-cuff comment about having Tiger over for dinner and serving him fried chicken.
But on a spectacular Sunday afternoon at Augusta National, Garcia broke the drought and won the crowd.
Sports on 04/11/2017