Sports Illustrated Features 2017 Masters Champion Sergio Garcia on National Cover

(RELEASE) - This week’s national cover of Sports Illustrated features Spanish professional golfer Sergio Garcia following his incredible win at the 2017 Masters Tournament, which marked his first-ever Masters title. The cover line reads, “SER-GEE-OH! Major breakthrough at the 81st Masters.”

For this week’s national cover story, SI senior writer Alan Shipnuck spoke with those close to Garcia: his family and the golfers who have competed against and silently cheered him on for decades. Shipnuck chronicles the fall and rise of the long awaited, but much expected, Masters Champion Sergio Garcia.

+ Read “Viva Sergio! The Spaniard claims his first major win after 73 attempts” by Alan Shipnuck
+ See SI’s Sergio Garcia cover here: http://bit.ly/2o0a6AV
+ Stay up-to-date with golf news at Golf.com
+ Check out the history of the Masters green jacket here: http://bit.ly/1UGDRok
+ See pro golfers' reactions to Sergio Garcia’s win on social media here: http://bit.ly/2osrUZx

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SI’S NATIONAL COVER STORY ON SERGIO GARCIA:
On Garcia’s longtime Masters slump, pro golfer and Garcia’s Ryder Cup comrade Martin Kaymer says: "Poor Sergio … It wasn’t fair to be made into Tiger’s rival—who could live up to that? I think it damaged him a little bit.”

Professional golfer Brandt Snedeker tells SI that Garcia is: "one of the most caring, fun, funny people around… I think he deserved to win a major. I feel like the game is in a better place with him winning a major instead of the other way around."

From Alan Shipnuck’s piece: “By the time García arrived at Augusta last week he was largely a forgotten figure, despite a lopsided win two months earlier against a good field in Dubai. But he had a secret weapon: He was in love again, this time with Angela Akins, 31, a former Golf Channel talent who now wears an engagement ring the size of a satellite dish.”

For more information, visit SI.com. This issue hits newsstands April 13.