Sergio Garcia ended his 18 year wait for a Major victory on Sunday. By the look on his face the wait only made things sweeter

It was the early twilight hours of 9th April 2017 when Sergio Garcia finally broke his Majors duck and clinched the Masters at Augusta National, Georgia. As I watched the ball roll down the 18th green, run around the edge of the hole and nestle in the bottom of the cup hairs stood up on the back of my neck. The colourful Georgian crowds around the 18th green erupted in jubilation for the Spaniard nicknamed “El Nino” who had ended his 18 year wait to win one of Golf’s 4 Major titles.

What can we learn from Sergio’s dedication and commitment?

For so many years Sergio, 37 from Borriol, Spain, had come close to winning golf’s most prestigious tournaments. I still remember him running down the fairway after his ball at the 1999 US PGA Championship where he eventually lost an enthralling duel to Tiger Woods. Woods was at his peak and won by only 1 shot, less than 6 months after Garcia had turned pro.

Following his near miss in ’99 came other missed opportunities in the Majors. In all, he achieved 22 top 10 major finishes before his career-defining moment, including being runner-up on 4 occasions.

5 years earlier Garcia made his most famous quote, “In 13 years I’ve come to realise that I need to play for second or third-place.” This was seen by many as him throwing in the towel, acceptance that he was destined to be the “nearly-man”. I see it as self-realisation that he can only do his best and if someone else is better on the day then it is not to be. This epiphany coupled with his recent engagement to fiancée, Angela Akins, led to him to be in a place where he was happy and comfortable with life and able to reach his destiny on the day which would have been his hero, Seve Ballesteros’ 60th birthday.

This “perfect” golfing story made me think about the need for patience and acceptance in property. In particular there are 2 areas where patience is imperative in your search for your ideal home.

When you are searching for your next home you need to be patient. The ideal property will not turn up straight away; indeed, it may not turn up at all and you might have to compromise on certain criteria you initially thought important. As Sergio has taught us though, once you accept that things may not turn out how we want then everything else will fall into place.

It is also important to take a step back when negotiating to acquire the property. It’s all too easy to become emotional about your purchase, rush in and overpay. You will believe what the agent is telling you and you don’t want to lose out on the thing you have been looking for so patiently. Sometimes, you have to trust that your initial offer is sufficient and there will not be a flood of others ready to accept the minor flaws of the property to get the benefits. Not everyone will have had their “Sergio moment” yet.

If you need help to find your “Sergio moment” then please get in touch with us – info@oxfordpropertyconsulting.co.uk We are Oxford’s premier property search agent and specialise in helping people reach their property goals whether they are looking to buy or to rent.

Read about our tips on how to negotiate on your rental property here.