HE'S BACK, isn't he? On Sunday night, as Sergio Garcia mischievously kissed his prodigal putter as he left the island green 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass and, later, caressed the Waterford Crystal trophy as if it were a long-lost treasure, the mercurial Spaniard - who had banished whatever demons swirled around in that head of his - contemplated the biggest win of his career, in The Players, and vowed it would be a stepping stone to what he really wants: a major win!

As ever, Garcia made life difficult for himself, requiring extra holes - defeating Paul Goydos at the first play-off hole, the infamous 17th - to claim victory and, with it, a cheque for $1.7 million. The win, his 17th worldwide which started with an Irish Open win at Druids Glen in 1999, moved him up eight places to 10th in the latest world rankings, making him the top-ranked European player.

Garcia, it seems, has long been destined for greatness; and, finally, the 28-year-old - who challenged for majors as a teenager, famously chasing down Tiger Woods in the 1999 US PGA - seems at peace with himself. The mental scars of his play-off defeat to Pádraig Harrington in last year's British Open at Carnoustie have, it would seem, healed. The future looks brighter than ever.

"The goal is to keep getting better, and the only thing that this (win) tells me is to keep working harder and to believe in myself. And, when I do believe in myself, I think there's not a lot of guys out there that can beat me . . . I know the capability that I have within myself and my game," said Garcia.

"If you work on the right things, they end up paying off. I'm looking forward to keep going. I want to have a good year, to keep giving myself chances of winning more events and a major if I can."

Technically he hasn't, but Garcia feels like he has won a major. "Everything around The Players feels like a major . . . and it tests you like a major. Unfortunately, it's not. But, maybe some time in the future, it might be. But, you know, it definitely feels like it and I'm so thrilled (to win)," said Garcia, whose final round 71, for five-under-par 283, earned him a play-off with Goydos and, ultimately, enabled him to become the first European winner since Sandy Lyle in 1987.

"Sergio is a potential top-two or top-three player in the world," said Goydos of his conqueror. "He's still only a kid. He's going to win a lot of tournaments, and he's going to win a major championship."

Garcia, who topped fairways hit and also greens-in-regulation at Sawgrass, which bodes well for next month's US Open at Torrey Pines, could also reflect on finally getting some success on the greens with the putter, an implement which has been his Achilles heel on so many big occasions.

In that regard, he paid tribute to the work he has done with Stan Utley, a former tour professional who has been his short-game coach since February. It was back at the Accenture Matchplay in Tucson - where, so frustrated was he with his putting that he put two into his bag, a short putter and a belly-putter - that Garcia started working with Utley, on the advice of Darren Clarke's former caddie Billy Foster, who shares the bag-carrying duties with Glen Murray in a unique arrangement on tour.

Utley, naturally, was delighted at Garcia's return to winning ways. "I've been very encouraged that even at the tournaments where Sergio didn't finish as high up the leaderboard as he would have liked, he talked about how solid he hit a lot of putts. You just want to hit solid putts and he's doing that on a much more consistent basis. You can see his confidence growing."

So, will this win open more doors in that attempt to finally win a major? "I think I still had an open door before this . . . it's just that you have to believe in yourself. I know what I can do and what I can achieve, and it's just a matter of being able to go out there and do it."

Garcia, though, admitted there were times in the last few years when it was hard to have such belief. His win in The Players on Sunday was his first win since the Booz Allen Classic back in 2005 and he has had some tough times since then, most notably that play-off defeat to Harrington and, also, collapsing in the final round of the previous year's British Open at Hoylake where Tiger Woods turned in a master class.

"Yes, there's been times when you doubt yourself," conceded Garcia. "You don't know if you're working on the right things, or if you should try something (new) . . . I don't know what the worst moment of self-doubt was, there were (a few). I don't want to remember those."

Garcia's build-up to the US Open at Torrey Pines will involve a week off this week, followed by appearances in the Memorial Tournament and the St Jude championship in Memphis before the season's next major. "Torrey Pines is a great golf course, an amazing golf course. I think it's going to be very difficult to beat Tiger Woods there because he obviously loves it there, kind of the same way I feel about Sawgrass. But at least I want to give it a chance, see if I can challenge him a bit.

"Whatever happens, happens . . . we'll see."

Garcia's wins (17)

USPGA Tour (7)

2001:MasterCard Colonial, Buick Classic; 2002: Mercedes Championships; 2004: Byron Nelson Championship, Buick Classic; 2005: Booz Allen Classic; 2008: The Players Championship

European PGA Tour (6)

1999 - Irish Open, German Masters; 2001 - Trophée Lancôme; 2002 - Canarias Open de Espana; 2004 - Mallorca Classic; 2005 - Omega European Masters.

Other wins (4)

1997 - Catalonian Open Championship; 2001 - Nedbank Golf Challenge; 2002 - Kolion Cup Korean Open; 2003 Nedbank Golf Challenge.