Video: Sergio Garcia's "Top 3" Recovery Shot

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Usually recovery shots aren't worth your time and this one may have been a lot more magnificent in person than it appeared on television. Still, the only thing more shocking that Sergio Garcia's ball dropping down in Riviera's 10th green bunker as Ryan Moore about to play: Sergio pulling off a recovery and par faced with no obvious opening along with a hanging bunker lie. And a three-iron in his hand.

His Northern Trust Open post-third round comments:

Q.  Have you ever had a better 4 than the one on 13?

SERGIO GARCÍA:  Yeah, I would put it in my top three.  I would say so. I've had some beauties I guess.

Q.  Your caddie said you had a 4‑iron out of the trap ‑‑

SERGIO GARCÍA:  3‑iron.

Q.  How would you describe the gap you had to hit?

SERGIO GARCÍA:  Unfortunately I had the TV tower, which if I would have been off the bunker, it would have been nice.  It would have given me a better angle.  But because I was in the bunker ‑‑  if I took full relief off the TV tower I was going to be up against the lip so I had pretty much no shot.

I probably had a couple yards, I would say between the TV tower and the trunk of the tree.  The difficult part about it was that I was in a little bit of a downslope in the bunker, ball a little bit above my feet, having to hit like a low, low cut that went underneath the branchs.  So it just clipped one little branch.

But I was thrilled to, I mean, I would have been happy with five, so four was a bonus.

Adam Sarson Tweeted a drawing to show off just how improbable the par was.


The video: