Sergio Garcia fell behind Justin Rose on the second nine of the 2017 Masters and needed a spark. We have the image of his birdie putt sneaking in on the first playoff hole now to cement Garcia as a Masters champion with the major win drought snapped at 74 starts, but earlier on Sunday afternoon, the win was in doubt. 

Garcia carded back-to-back bogeys on 10 and 11, and for a moment, the 2017 Masters appeared destined to join the other chapters of heartbreak in his career. Another top-10 was a lock, while the rest of the field fell behind the final pairing, but two bogeys to open the second nine put Rose on a fast track to victory. 

Then, Garcia responded with an incredible turn that started with drama. At No. 13, a bad lie led Garcia to take a drop and fall a stroke off the pace, definitely out of scoring position on the par-5 Amen Corner exit hole. Garcia saved par with an awesome up-and-down from 89 yards out. 

The momentum from that seven-foot par putt carried over to the next two holes. First was a birdie on the par-4 14th. 

Then came the most dramatic development yet in the championship chase, an eagle on No. 15, the same hole where Rose started his own run of birdies. The roars from the patrons when the eagle dropped for Garcia were among the loudest of the day, and a moment that will forever be tied to Garcia and his 2017 Masters run.

It was Garcia’s first eagle in his last 452 holes at the Masters.

Rose had his own answer with a birdie on 15 after Garcia’s eagle and then another birdie on 16, but a bogey on 17 set the stage for a final hole duel. 

Twice on 18 (the 72nd and 73rd hole), Garcia was the king of the moment, dropping a pair of approach shots that won him the tournament. But before Sergio’s long winning putt dropped, there was a miss from five feet that sent the competition to a playoff. 

Rose hit his tee shot to open the playoff into the woods and short of Garcia, then punched out to Garcia’s feet. With a one-stroke advantage on the hole, Garcia went on to deliver another clutch approach into the green and this time buried his birdie putt to win. 

Garcia had finished in the top-10 at Augusta three times (2002, 2004, 2013) and now he joins his idols Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal as one of three Spaniards to win the Masters.