Garcia's insinuations remain an Open debate

TULSA, Okla. -- Given the opportunity for a mulligan, Sergio Garcia would use it on his golf, not his commentary.

The putt on the 72d hole in last month's British Open? That's what he'd take over.

"I would have tried to hit that putt a little bit further out," said the 27-year-old Spaniard, talking of a putt that would have won the title at Carnoustie.

Instead, when the ball lipped out and he made bogey, Garcia was forced into a four-hole playoff that he lost to Irishman Padraig Harrington.

It left Garcia 0 for 33 as a professional in majors. It also left him in a crusty, bitter mood, but even if he were afforded a do-over two weeks later, he'd wouldn't take it.

"Yeah, I was emotional. I opened myself [up] to you guys and I said what I felt."

But there were no regrets.

"That's pretty much it," he said.

Actually, he said that several times yesterday during a 20-minute meeting with reporters on the eve of the 89th PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club.

Of the putt he wishes he had over? "That's pretty much it," he said.

Of his post-tournament insinuation that most players get breaks, but he doesn't, Garcia said, "Definitely, if a couple of breaks would have gone my way, it would have been a different story. But that's pretty much it."

OK, we got the point. That's pretty much it.

As for his latest bid to win a major, Garcia feels confident.

"I don't have a doubt that it will eventually happen," he said, when asked about never having won a major. "It's just a matter of giving myself chances and I'll definitely give myself a lot of them."

There have been eight finishes within the top five during his major starts, 13 within the top 10, so he's obviously achieving that goal. It's just that the same questions time and time again can be bothersome.

If he sounded bitter following the British Open, prior to the PGA Championship his voice reflected a more philosophical tone.

"If it doesn't happen," he said of his latest attempt at victory, "it's not a big deal."

Or, to say it another way, that's pretty much it.

So, with Angel Cabrera having won the US Open and young Andres Romero having made a splash at the British Open and winning the Deutsche Bank Players Championship in Germany, does this signal that golf will move up in order of popularity in Argentina, where soccer is unquestionably No. 1? Cabrera laughed and shook his head. "No, no chance," he said. Cabrera then explained that golf remained fifth in line, behind even tennis, rugby, and basketball . . . Longtime caddie John "Cubby" Burke, who has worked for Brad Faxon, Mark Calcavecchia, and Davis Love during a lengthy career, is alongside Brett Quigley for a second straight week . . . Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson pretty much will trade tee times. Woods goes off No. 10 this morning, accompanied by Rich Beem and Bob Tway at 8:45, and tomorrow they get the 1:50 tee time off No. 1. Mickelson, David Toms, and Jeff Sluman go today at 1:50 p.m. off No. 1 and tomorrow they get the 10th tee at 8:45 a.m.

When Paul Azinger withdrew with back woes, it left just 12 winners of this championship in the field -- Mark Brooks, John Daly, Steve Elkington, Shaun Micheel, Vijay Singh, Love, Beem, Sluman, Toms, Mickelson, Tway, and Woods . . . That would suggest Brooks has a fondness of this championship, but they may be softened by his memories of Southern Hills. It was here, in 2001, that he lost in an 18-hole playoff to Retief Goosen for the US Open championship. There's no way to tell if that ignited a career free fall, but the numbers are alarming for the Texan whose seven victories includes the 1996 PGA. Since that playoff loss, Brooks has played in 182 PGA Tour events, missed 118 cuts, notched but four top 10s, and his status is that of a former champion, which relegates you to Page 2-206 in the PGA Tour media guide . . . Other withdrawals include Carl Pettersson (his wife recently delivered their second child), Jason Bohn (illness), and Bernhard Langer (illness). Daniel Chopra, Bo Van Pelt, Stephen Leaney, and Ted Purdy are in thanks to those early departures . . . It was especially fitting for Van Pelt, who lives in Tulsa . . . Pettersson's withdrawal means only 12 players have the opportunity to make the cut in all four majors: Woods, Singh, Jim Furyk, Justin Rose, Paul Casey, Mike Weir, Zach Johnson, Jerry Kelly, Ian Poulter, Niclas Fasth, Scott Verplank, and Lee Westwood.

When the annual PGA champions' dinner was held Tuesday night, Daly was his usual no-show. He attributes that to his dislike of ties and suit coats, forgetting that he owes his fame and fortune to those four magical August days at Crooked Stick (Ind.) in 1991 when he went from alternate to PGA champion. The only thing is, he's been a complete bust in the season's final major since then. In attendance for the PGA every August since, save for 1999, Daly has missed the cut in 10 of 14 starts and is a whopping 122 over par in 36 rounds. His best finish is a tie for 29th at Winged Foot in 1997 and at one point he missed six straight cuts . . . Two men who did attend -- Dave Stockton and Raymond Floyd -- each earned one of their two PGA Championship wins here at Southern Hills (1970 and 1982, respectively). Stockton and Floyd have been named assistants to US Ryder Cup captain Azinger for the 2008 competition at Valhalla in Louisville, Ky. Azinger also named Olin Browne as an assistant and he's holding on to the possibility that he'll name a fourth assistant. "It is my intention to lean on these guys," said Azinger.

There are 20 players who have qualified for spots in the field via the PGA Club Professional Championship and while all will be rather anonymous, one should generate more attention than the others -- Kevin Burton. Not because of his game, mind you -- though we're sure he's a solid player -- but because of what he'll be wearing. Burton, you see, is the golf coach at Boise State and vows to wear the school color and logo. It'll be interesting to see how that goes over with so many rabid Oklahoma football fans here. Boise State, you may remember, stunned the Sooners in a Fiesta Bowl complete with a game-ending Statue of Liberty play for the ages . . . For the first time in many years, the roster of club pros in this major championship does not include a New England representative.