He finished at 2 under. Yet, unlike Phil Mickelson, he made the cut and finished. Afterward, as one of the event's marquee names, he was beset by autograph seekers and obliged.

Although still only 31, he stood 12th among career money leaders through the Canadian Open with earnings of over $27 million. He's a true man of the world. And one with a clear picture of where the Classic stands after two years of existence.

"It was good," Garcia said. "It was much better [than last year]. I think the [Old White TPC] course was much better overall. You can see it. You can see it on the scoring. You can see it overall. But I think there are still things that can be improved."

Last year, Stuart Appleby won the tournament at 22 under. That wasn't the case this year. Three players finished tied at 10 under, and rookie Scott Stallings earned his first career PGA Tour victory with a birdie on the first extra hole.

"It's definitely a much higher-class tournament now," Garcia said. "You have to play well to score. You have to hit the right shots. Unfortunately, last year, the way the greens were and everything, you could hit it anywhere and stop it on a dime [on the greens], even out of the rough. This year, it was totally different."

He did, though, mention the tournament can improve.

"There are obviously things you can do," he said. "I think the way they left the bunkers was not great. It wasn't fully grassed. There are some holes there where the ball just seems to bounce and never come back into the bunker. Most of the time it doesn't come back into the bunker. It stays in that grass. When the grass is that high and there are holes, and the ball goes into one of those holes, it's almost impossible to hit out. That happened to me two or three times this week. I'm sure it happened to more people.

"Other than that, I think it's great. I think the changes are going to settle down as we go through the years. I think the greens look good. They are obviously brand new this year, but next year they'll be better. In the years to come, they'll keep improving."

Garcia was asked if he, like some other golfers, had complaints about the tees on the No. 2 and 13 holes.

"No, I think they mixed it nicely," he said. "I think we had two days where they put [the tees] in front and two days where they put them in the back. They mixed it up nicely. I think the thing about a good course is one that one can play differently. It's not the same thing every day. Now they have that possibility. I think it was fine."

Garcia has formed an affiliation with The Greenbrier to promote the resort, but said he's not sure when he can make it back, aside from next year's tournament.

"Whew, it's tough," said the native of Castellon, Spain. "I mean, I like to go back home to Europe when I'm not playing. Hopefully, in the future, I'll have a chance."

Reach Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827, mitchvin...@wvgazette.com or follow him at twitter.com/MitchVingle.