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Louisville - World number three Sergio Garcia, who has endured 10 top-five finishes at majors without ever lifting a trophy, says he feels no sense of urgency about collecting that breakthrough title.
The 34-year-old Spaniard, who settled for second to Rory McIlroy at last month's British Open, tries again in his 65th major appearance starting Thursday at the 96th PGA Championship at Valhalla.
"I've always wanted to win at least one, but I would never say I felt urgency about it," Garcia said Wednesday. "Obviously we're here trying to do it, week in and week out, so it would be nice.
"But like I've always said, if I get to 45 and I haven't won one, then I'll probably start worrying a bit more. But hopefully that won't happen."
Garcia squandered a final-round lead last week in losing a World Golf Championships event to Northern Ireland's 25-year-old McIlroy, who held off Garcia down the stretch to win his fourth major last month at Royal Liverpool.
Garcia's four major runner-up efforts also include trailing Tiger Woods in a famed 1999 PGA Championship duel and trailing Irishman Padraig Harrington at the 2007 British Open and 2008 PGA Championship.
It would be no wonder if Garcia wanted no part of an Irish rival come Sunday afternoon.
"I wish I could blame it only on the Irish guys," Garcia said. "It's just a curiosity. I've been close two or three times with Tiger and he's come out on top and with Padraig and then Rory lately. It's just funny, I guess."
Garcia, who won earlier this year at Qatar, shared third at the 2005 US Open and level fourth at the 2004 Masters for his best showings in those events.
Garcia has found McIlroy more willing to grab his driver than Woods in career rivalries with both.
"They are both great players," he said.
"When they are both at their best, to me it seems like Rory is less afraid of hitting driver, and when he's hitting it as well as he's hitting it now, he's hitting it very far and quite straight.
"It makes a lot of holes a lot easier when most of the guys are hitting 7-iron and he's hitting wedge."
Garcia, who shared 34th in the 2000 PGA at Valhalla, said he arrives at the 7,458-yard layout this week with confidence as high as it has ever been, even after poor putting cost him a title last Sunday.
"I obviously feel quite good. I'm excited about it," Garcia said.
"Finishing second is not the greatest but the only guy that loses is the one that has a chance of winning. I would rather finish second and lose than be 50th and not have a chance."
With a maturity he would have lacked back in his teen days when he first smashed onto the golf scene, Garcia is taking setbacks like another near-miss major with a positive view.
"To start with is probably not looking at it as a disappointment," he said.
"So many things happen in your life and golf where you feel maybe that you should have gotten something better, so why look at it that way. Just try to enjoy the good moments as much as possible.
"I'm really excited about the way I'm playing. I'm really happy the way I'm playing. I think looking at it that way, it's probably helped me."
