PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Sergio García was warming up on Thursday for his first competitive round since his victory at the Masters last month. Setting up at the very end of the range, closest to the T.P.C. Sawgrass practice greens, García took longer than usual to get through the clubs in his bag, through no fault of his own.
Players and caddies on their way to start their opening rounds of The Players Championship kept stopping him to offer their congratulations. It had been that way since Monday, García said.
“It almost feels like they wanted me to win it more than I did,” he said.