It's a phrase to dump forever

Nobody actually said it on TV.

No one dared type it out anywhere in the print media.

But it was there, and it’s been there for years ... if not whispered aloud by people paid to talk, then certainly spoken by plenty of fans.

Sergio Garcia choked in big tournaments.

First of all, I need to say that I’ve covered professional athletes up close – very close – for quite a long time. And I HATE the word “choke.”

It implies some kind of cowardice, or a mental state that suggests you know you are going to lose.

Look, it’s the nature of sports that lots of people lose in all manner of ways – but not by choking.

What you DO see, over and over, are athletes going through momentary crises of confidence – and at the level they’re competing, the slightest loss of certainty can be critical.

Form comes and goes, for almost everyone, but there is no lack of courage among elite athletes.

WHENEVER I hear a beer-bellied fan pull his jaw out of the salsa dip long enough to holler, “You’re a choker!”...

I wish I could rule the universe for just 10 minutes, and miraculously pull this loudmouth loser out of his recliner and place him on the 18th green at Augusta.

Put a putter in his hand, place the ball 18 inches from the cup and then tell him, “There are thousands of people surrounding you, and millions watching all over the world. Your name will be on everyone’s lips tomorrow, either as a champion or the worst donkey who ever lived.

“Now let’s see if you can roll in this teeny little putt.”

I’d fly to Vegas on the spot, and bet several months’ salary that Joe Pearshape would be shaking so hard that he’d accidentally tap the ball and lose on the penalty stroke.

Now remember, this is the same character who was calling Sergio Garcia a choker with six holes to play on Sunday — making fun of a man who’s won 31 professional golf tournaments (including the Players Championship) and 17 Ryder Cup matches.

As a bonus, Sergio’s won $28 million in after-tax purse money and probably double that from sponsorships, he’s engaged to a beautiful TV personality and owns homes in Spain, Switzerland and Florida.

In other words, when you’re swilling another cold one and trying to insult this professional golfer, you’re really saying: “He has everything I don’t, but at least I can call him names because he hasn’t won a major.”

TO WHICH Sergio now would happily reply: “Choke on this!”

His victory Sunday in The Masters — after finishing runner-up in four majors previously — was truly spectacular, and not because he blew away the field.

No, it was fantastic because he built a three-stroke lead over Justin Rose early in the final round, but then watched it disappear in a blizzard of birdies by Rose and some loose shots of his own.

Down two strokes on No. 13, a par-5 he would hope to birdie, Garcia only missed hitting his drive into Rae’s Creek because it was wild enough to sail OVER the creek and into a jungle.

Unplayable lie. Penalty stroke.

Game, set and another heartbreak, right?

Except...

Sergio somehow gutted up and stole a miraculous, all-world par on the hole, while Rose missed his 7-foot birdie putt.

And after that, you somehow just knew it was Sergio’s Masters.

Yeah, he missed a curling 5-footer on No. 18 that would have won it in regulation, so he came right back and birdied the same hole to win the playoff.

The defeated Rose hugged him on the 18th green and patted Garcia’s heart.

What a perfect gesture.

Tributes from fellow pros, men who’ve heard people whispering that horrible word, poured in from all over the world.

Look, professional athletes do not...

Wait, I won’t even use the word.

And if you’re ever thinking it — ever — I’ll send you a tape of this Masters.

Steve Cameron is a special assignment reporter for The Press. Reach Steve via email at: [email protected].