Garcia horses around
His handicapping is on the lighter side
SAN DIEGO - Tiger Woods is often compared with Jack Nicklaus, and his record is held up against legends of the game like Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer. But Sergio Garcia mentioned another heralded sports figure as a way of explaining why Woods is still the favorite in this week's US Open, despite having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee eight weeks ago.
"It's like Big Brown," said Garcia. "With a crack [in his hoof], he was still the favorite."
A crowded media room at Torrey Pines Golf Course erupted in laughter, for never had Woods's dominance been compared to that of a horse. And when Garcia was reminded that Big Brown had failed miserably in a bid to win the Triple Crown in Saturday's Belmont Stakes, the Spaniard smiled.
"We'll see," he said. "He still [had] a top 10."
That wasn't lost on the audience, either. Big Brown did finish ninth - but it was a nine-horse field, and it's doubtful Garcia was predicting that sort of performance by Woods.
Still, Garcia indicated that he preferred his preparation method and not Woods's.
"I usually like to play maybe one or two [tournaments] before a major," said Garcia, who finished joint fourth in last week's Stanford St. Jude Championship and 45th the week before at the Memorial. "I feel like I'm already going into the major with some momentum and some competitive fluids, you might call it."
Woods, as Garcia knows, feels differently. He does not play the week before a major and this year the break is even more exaggerated, since Woods, for health reasons, hasn't played since Round 4 of the Masters April 13. Had he been able to, Woods more than likely would have played three times over the last eight weeks -
All the best
At least publicly, Phil Mickelson and Woods are in agreement on tomorrow's first-round pairings. "I like it," said Woods, and Mickelson concurred, saying, "I think that it's awesome." In a move that goes against a conservative style they have used for decades, US Golf Association officials took the marquee names and paired them for the first two rounds. Nos. 1-2-3 in the world rankings - Woods, Mickelson, and Adam Scott - will be in one group, while the same goes for 4-5-6 (Ernie Els, Geoff Ogilvy, Justin Rose), 7-8-9 (Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, K.J. Choi), and 10-11-12 (Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia, Stewart Cink). "I think it's exciting for the fans, exciting for the players," said Woods. "We all are looking forward to it." . . . Of course, leave it to Mickelson to remind the audience that this isn't anything new, that just last Labor Day weekend he and Woods played alongside one another in three of four rounds at theThe home holes
Seven-year PGA Tour member Pat Perez will be playing in his third US Open at the course he considers home. It's where he played most of his golf as a teenager and where he went to work as a 13-year-old, but the connections don't stop with him. His father has been a starter for years at the PGA Tour's Buick Invitational. "He's done it forever," said Perez. "He'll do it until he can't walk anymore, I'm assuring." . . . Amateur star Kevin Tway will have an experienced caddie on board for this test - his father, PGA Tour veteran Bob Tway. Currently enrolled at Oklahoma State, Kevin Tway may be a former US Junior Amateur champ, but his dad does him one better - he's a former PGA Championship winner. Since 1985, Bob Tway has played in 23 Buick Invitationals at Torrey Pines, and the list includes a victory in 1986, and had things worked out differently, he may have tried to get into this field. But he withdrew from sectional qualifying to caddie for Kevin.
