Masters champion Sergio Garcia saw the chances of retaining his title sink into oblivion after finding the water on FIVE consecutive occasions on 15th hole of his opening round at Augusta.

The Spaniard, who took the title for the first time in 2017, found the green on the par five on each occasion from his approach, but saw the ball run down the slope and into the water each time.

He finally holed out after his sixth approach but found himself with an unwanted record, as the first player in Masters history to take 13 shots on any hole. It sent the Spaniard tumbling down the leaderboard from two-over-par to 10-over-par. To his credit, he did birdie the next.

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The last time anyone at the Masters shot a 13 was at the par-three 12th hole in 1980, when Tom Weiskopf was the unfortunate player.

Garcia’s head-scratching disaster reminded those who saw it of Kevin Coster’s character in the movie Tin Cup, who shot a 12 in the fictional U.S. Open, after similarly seeing his approach shots roll back into the water hazard.

Given that he will now likely miss the cut, Garcia will have to hang around all weekend to present the eventual winner with the iconic Green Jacket.

More to follow…