Garcia hopes surge continues

NORTON - Another day, another pair of 63s. Isn't there some kind of golf constitution to protect this course from cruel and unusual punishment?

There was a bit of a wind on an otherwise gorgeous day for golf, and it was enough of a breeze to cause a few clubbing problems. But nothing happening at the Deutsche Bank Championship here at TPC Boston fazed either Ben Crane or Camilo Villegas, who each put up 63s, which under normal circumstances would have arched even more eyebrows were it not for the fact that Mike Weir had thrown a 61 out there Friday and Tim Clark had flirted with a 59 before settling for a 62 Saturday.

It's enough to make a guy slinking around in, you know, a 68 or 69 hang his head in embarrassment.

Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, and Jim Furyk, marquee names all, had 69s in yesterday's third round, which enabled them all to remain in contention behind Weir, who managed to save some face yesterday with a birdie on 18 that got him home with a 67 (just kidding) and a 54-hole score of 196. But a 67? That barely enables Weir to look Jesper Parnevik, Michael Allen, Bill Haas, and Justin Leonard - all of whom had 66s - in the eye.

There were plenty of those borderline embarrassing 68s, too, one of them belonging to the ever-popular, ever-entertaining, ever right-on-the-verge-of-true-greatness Sergio Garcia, who is very much in this thing at 199, three strokes behind Weir and, along with his friend Singh, two behind Villegas, the dashing Colombian via the University of Florida.

Ah, Sergio, Sergio. Still the darling of the young - he may yet be signing autographs to the cries of "Ser-gio" - still an exquisite shotmaker and still prisoner of an erratic putter. At 28, he is rich ($23 million-plus on the PGA Tour alone), he is internationally famous and, despite his protestations, he is, with the announcement that neither Colin Montgomerie nor Darren Clarke will be on the 2008 squad, the very rock of Europe's Ryder Cup team, for whom he is 14-3-3 in four appearances.

There is an eternal fascination about Sergio, who would be the European version of Tiger if he would just settle down and win a major, any major. He was, like Tiger, born to play this game, having learned it from his father, Victor, from the age of 3. He was an international prodigy who announced himself to the American audience in 1999 by making a strong run for a PGA championship Tiger would win at Medinah. It was assumed that it was just a matter of time before he'd bag a major, and, nine years and 36 majors later, we're still waiting.

Sergio arrived here playing well, and he's still playing well, as his 67-64-68 scores would indicate. He won The Players Championship this spring. He tied for second in the PGA, and he was on the verge of a win in The Barclays before Singh one-upped him by sinking a 27-foot putt on the first playoff hole after Sergio had canned a 26-footer (Greg Norman could relate). That enabled Singh to emerge as the FedEx Cup points leader, but Sergio came here as a solid No. 2. You'd be foolish to dismiss him.

"It's nice," he said. "It's nice to be playing well. It would have been nicer to see a few putts on the back nine fall, instead of going over the edge. You know, I hit some good shots on the back nine and some good putts. I probably felt like I deserved a couple more, but, on the other hand, it's not a bad round."

No, it wasn't a bad round at all, but with any decent luck on those aforementioned back nine putts he'd be no worse than a stroke behind Mr. Weir. But isn't Sergio lamenting his putting something we've all heard before?

When the discussion turned to the upcoming Ryder Cup, and Nick Faldo's captain's selections of Paul Casey and Ian Poulter, Sergio was a company man all the way.

"Yeah, obviously it's a tough decision," Garcia said, "but I don't think he could really go wrong with whoever he picked, because no matter who he picked, it was going to be a good pick."

In the absence of longtime mainstay Montgomerie and plucky Clarke, it was suggested to Sergio that his role on the team might change. He pretty much reacted with horror.

"No," he declared with a firm voice. "I think we're all the same. We've got to be the same way like we've been in the past. Just be a team and make sure that we all play for each other, for everyone else."

That's very noble, but the fact is Garcia has been a Ryder Cup stalwart from the beginning and that gaudy 14-3-3 record really does mean something. He invariably arrives with his A game, and when you look at the composition of the European squad, there is no question who the ace is. Padraig Harrington may be coming off those two majors, but he does not have the Ryder Cup résumé Sergio has. He is the centerpiece of their team, no question.

But that's a couple of weeks down the road. This tournament is still available.

"I feel like I'm playing well," he said. "We'll see what the weather brings us. If [today] is like [yesterday], you're going to have to be very patient out there. It's going to be tough. But I'm looking forward to the challenge, and, hopefully, I can play well like I've been playing and give myself another good shot at it."

If you're anywhere in New England and you hear some high-pitched voices shrieking "Ser-gio!" sometime around 6 p.m. today, you'll know how it came out.

Bob Ryan is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at ryan@globe.com.