Sergio Garcia is inspired by his golfing heroes and community

Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia made his first major mark on golf history when he won The Masters on April 9, 2017, beating Justin Rose by two strokes in a final play-off round.

Today, Garcia, who has also finished third or better in five other major men’s championships, plays on both the Asian and LIV Golf Tours, but says he feels most at home in Austin, Texas, where he has lived with his wife and children for the better part of five years.

“Austin is such a great city. We both love it,” Garcia beamed during our Zoom call last week. “I love the people, I love the food here, and our kids go to school here and enjoy it.”

Garcia and his wife Angela are also excited about the fourth annual edition of their own golf charity event, FORE Kids ATX, taking place this week, November 6 and 7. The charity event will take place at Omni Barton Creek in Austin.

The FORE Kids Golf Tournament follows on Friday, November 7, with a shotgun start at 11 a.m. at Fazio Canyons at Omni Barton Creek. During the event, professional golfers and public figures join other scratch golfers to play golf in the name of good.

“As members of the Austin community, my wife and I are really focused on giving back.” Garcia added that the reception so far “has been amazing,” noting that “in our fourth year to date, we have raised over $7 million.”

Previous FORE Kids ATX events have brought together hundreds of high-profile guests and golf enthusiasts, including former University of Texas national champion football coach Mack Brown and former professional football players Diego Forlán, Gabriel Batistuta and Joe Hart. All of the above athletes return for this week’s event.

Professional golfers Abraham Ancer, David Puig and Josele Ballester have been confirmed to attend and participate this year. Since its founding in 2022, FORE Kids ATX has raised more than $7 million for organizations that improve the lives and provide healthcare for children and families in Central Texas.

“We are very proud,” Garcia also said. “We have also brought in Chris Harrison and Lauren Zima, which I think should give the event an extra oomph and more visibility.”

Television hosts Harrison and Zima are two of Garcia’s close friends and have just helped plan and promote this year’s edition of FORE Kids ATX.

“Chris and I are honored to participate as partners in FORE Kids ATX 2025,” Zima said in a statement on behalf of the philanthropic couple. “Sergio and Angela are dear friends who have done so much for our great state’s most vulnerable children.”

A native of Dallas, Harrison is a longtime television host and producer best known for hosting “The Bachelor” and its spinoff shows dating back nearly two decades. Zima, an Emmy-winning correspondent and former host of “Entertainment Tonight,” met Harrison through work.

Zima has been a proponent of it for years Experience campsan award-winning national nonprofit organization that changes the lives of children who have lost a parent or loved one through summer camp programs and innovative year-round initiatives. Part of the funds raised by FORE Kids ATX goes to Experience Camps.

Brown, who coached University of Texas football from 1998 to 2013 and the Longhorns won an NCAA championship in 2005, also weighed in.

“Sergio and Angela do a lot in the Austin community to help kids,” Brown said. “We are fortunate to have them make Austin their home. They add so much to our great community.”

Garcia has called Austin home since 2017. His wife, Angela Garcia, is a longtime Austinite who played golf at the University of Texas and then spent time on the air as a sports reporter and anchor for FOX Sports.

Outside of their careers and roles as loving parents, the Garcias dedicate themselves to philanthropy in their home state. In 2021, Angela Garcia founded the UGLI Foundation, an initiative aimed at ending bullying. The organization trains ambassadors in anti-bullying solutions and provides funding to schools to launch or improve anti-bullying programs across the state. The UGLI Foundation is a returning grantee of this year’s FORE Kids ATX, along with Dell Children’s Medical Center.

Golf god, common man

Garcia is one of the few golfers from Spain and part of a shortlist that also includes Jon Rahm, as well as two-time Masters winners José María Olazábal and Seve Ballesteros. And even though The Masters is one of two major championships that make up golf in America, Garcia says he and other Spanish golfers still feel like The Masters is a tournament in itself.

“The Masters is very special, and obviously special for me because it’s the only major I’ve won,” Garcia said. “I like that there is always the opportunity to play and win again.”

But there is another important reason why The Masters is so close to Garcia’s heart.

“April 9, the day I won, it was also Seve’s birthday, and that makes it special, and special that The Masters is usually the same week.”

Garcia cited his compatriot’s dynamic playing style, as well as the Hall of Famer’s ability to stage comebacks in tournaments and play seemingly impossible shots, as part of the inspiration for his own game.

“Without a doubt, my biggest idols (in golf) growing up were my father, who taught me the game, and Seve and José María Olazábal. About Seve, I love the imagination he had as a player,” Garcia said. “And he also had incredible charisma and ability to shoot. He could always find a way, or find a gap, and that was something I always admired.”

Ballesteros, who died in 2011, won the Masters in 1980 and 1983 and won the Open Championship three times, in 1979, 1984 and 1988, while also spending 61 weeks at No. 1 in the world.

On Ballesteros’ excellent and creative play, Garcia added, “I’d like to think I have at least a little bit of that. When I play, like everyone else, I may not make a good shot, but I’m always looking for a way that I can make it, or find a hole, or get on the green somehow.”

Garcia also said he cherished his time with Olazábal, who currently competes on the PGA Tour Champions, formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.

“With José, it was great to play with him and be part of the teams for the Ryder Cup,” Garcia said. “It was great to be there with him in 1999 when he won the Masters and got the green jacket, the same year I won the Low Amateur. That was super special.”