Garcia hoping for major breakthrough

Sergio Garcia hopes a surge in confidence and a much-improved short game can propel him to US Open success.

Buoyed by his win at the Players Championship, Garcia will take his shot at a first major championship when the tournament starts at Torrey Pines.

"Winning the Players is always something huge, and that gives you a lot of confidence, winning on a tough golf course and probably against the deepest field in golf we play all year," Garcia said. "It was a great victory."

He added: "It's always important to win a big event, anytime you win one of those it gives you a little bit of extra confidence," Garcia said. "And the most important thing is when you're down the stretch you know you've done it before in a big event against a tough field on a difficult course, that definitely helps. I'm hoping to put good use to that in the near future."

That win at Sawgrass was definitely a shot in the arm to Garcia, but it is not the only reason he feels better equipped to win his first major. His short game and putting, long a sore spot in regard to his overall game, have become a strong suit of late.

"I think my confidence with my short game is much greater than it's probably ever been," Garcia said. "For example, last week, I played pretty solid all week but I didn't play that great on Saturday and my short game stood up for me and I still managed to keep myself with a chance to win on Sunday on a tough course and in difficult conditions. It's been a while since I have been able to achieve that."