Thursday, January
3, 2002
Sergio primed to
tackle Tiger
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — Sergio Garcia has never been intimidated
by Tiger Woods.
That much was clear when the 21-year-old Spaniard made his first
big splash in America by taking Woods down to the final hole of
the 1999 PGA Championship at Medinah. A year later, he beat Woods
in the made-for-TV exhibition at Bighorn.
Garcia is not bashful about his goals for the new season.
He wants to win the money title on the PGA Tour and the European
tour, something no one has ever done. Of course, winning the PGA
Tour money title means knocking off Woods, which no one has come
close to doing the past three years.
“That's the expectations,” Garcia said Wednesday on
the eve of the season-opening Mercedes Championships at Kapalua.
“You've got to try to take them as high as you can so you're
able to reach the closest to that goal.”
Why not shoot for all four majors in one year?
“It crossed my mind,” Garcia said. “It's really
tough. But if Tiger won four in a row, why not?”
Now is as good a time as any to be thinking about the money list,
especially with the slate wiped clean at the start of a season.
The winner in the 32-man field of PGA Tour winners walks away
with a Mercedes sports car and a $720,000 head start on winning
the money title.
Garcia doesn't think any less of Woods, but encouraged because
Woods did not leave everyone in his wake like he did in 2000.
“The gap is a lot closer,” Garcia said. “You saw
it last year. He's not playing as well as he played in 2000 or
'99. That's good for everybody.”
Yes, the gap is closer.
No, Woods did not repeat his record-setting performance of 2000.
But Tiger is still Tiger.
All he did last year was win five tournaments, two more than anyone
else. He won the Masters, making him the first player to hold
the titles of all four majors at the same time. He won the money
list, the scoring title, player of the year.
Hal Sutton held his hand as high over his head as possible to
draw a performance chart of Woods' career — and where Woods
is headed.
“His level of greatness will go from here to here to here,”
he said, lowering and raising his hand only slightly. “Occasionally,
one of us goes like this (raising his hand high), stays there
for a bit and then ...” Sutton dropped his hand lower.
Garcia was on the upswing last year, coming from behind to take
advantage of a collapse by Phil Mickelson at Colonial, then beating
a strong field at the Buick Classic the week after the Spaniard
contended in the U.S. Open.
Of all the young players mentioned as possible challengers to
Woods, Garcia is the only one who really belongs, at least for
now.
He is younger than most, too, having turned pro at 19 and succeeding
quickly — the threat at Medinah, two victories in Europe
and a strong showing in the Ryder Cup.
He is just as fearless as he was in 1999, and the statements are
becoming bolder.
Last month, Thomas Bjorn said that while the gap between Woods
and the rest of the players had closed last year, there will always
be a gap because Woods is capable of better golf than everyone
else.
Garcia disagrees.
“He's capable of doing some things that some of us can't
do, like hitting a 2-iron 270 yards straight up in the air and
things like that,” he said. “But I also think that we're
capable of some things that maybe he can't do.
“I see myself almost 22 years old — he's 26. I think
that I can be as good as he is when I'm 26, or hopefully, sooner.”
He'll find out Thursday when the 2002 season gets under way at
the hilly, scenic Plantation Course at Kapalua. It might not seem
like the start of a new year, especially because most players
were still going at it last month.
Woods is equally eager to get going.
He looked like the Tiger of old two weeks ago when he shot 30
on the back nine at Sherwood Country Club to win his own Williams
World Challenge. In the two weeks since then, he relaxed, turned
26, tried to grow another goatee (he shaved it all off Wednesday)
and recharged.
“It felt like a nice break,” Woods said. “It was
great to get away from it, and then come back and recharge, ready
to go.”
Woods is accustomed to fast starts. In five season-opening events,
he has won twice, finished second another year and has never fared
worse than eighth.
A year ago, it took Woods six PGA Tour events to bag his first
victory. He would rather not wait that long — Bay Hill in
March — to get his first of the new year.
“It's always important to win early,” Woods said. “It's
important to play well because it makes you feel better about
the season.”
And it could remind Garcia and others that he's still the man
to beat.
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