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Where's the love Sergio?

Sergio Garcia has had little to smile about in recent months © Getty Images

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Sergio Garcia posted three-over after two rounds to miss out on the weekend action at the US PGA Championship - leading to him heading off for a two-month break from golf.

It has been 18 months since Garcia revealed he had split from his then girlfriend Morgan-Leigh Norman, daughter of Greg Norman. Later in the summer, Garcia said: "It hurt. It was probably the first time I have been really in love. It took me a while to get over it."

But has he really got over it? The slump in form has made for uncomfortable viewing, as Garcia has looked totally miserable on course and his game has suffered as a result. He has slipped from a career high No. 2 in the world to a current No. 51 and the winning smile and happy-go-lucky approach have fallen off the radar.

Garcia revealed prior to the US PGA that he would take a break unless he secured a high finish. There was no chance of a high finish as he trudged round the course and his current malaise was summed up when he threatened to break his club in frustration by repeatedly smashing it into the face of a bunker. It was not nice to see but it did reveal one thing: Garcia still cares.

The talent may be lying dormant at present, but it still remains inside Garcia. A player who has won a Players Championship and finished fourth at the Masters, third at the US Open, second at the Open and second at the US PGA does not just lose the ability to play golf. There is a reason and with Garcia it appears his heart has been rocked. His slump in form coincided with his split from Norman, he has looked distracted since and that causes problems when you are competing at the top of the game.

"I haven't had a nice, long break my whole career. I need the break. I need to miss the game a little bit," Garcia claimed recently. He will now head for a break and needs to take as long is needed to make that statement come true. He has suggested he will look to come back at the Castello Masters on October 21, but other than that tournament being in his native Spain there is nothing really left for Garcia to play for this season and a complete break until the spring may be a sensible move.

After signing his card at Whistling Straits on Friday, Garcia was seen walking through the grounds hand in hand with a mystery brunette. Little is known about Garcia's companion, but a spell back home concentrating on anything but golf could allow him to get what has been troubling him out of his system and allow the Spaniard to return with a smile on his face, a spring in his step and more importantly, a hunger and desire to get back to the top of the tree.

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