Saturday, September
28, 2002
Garcia
has only one failing - blame it on his youth
By TIM DAHLBERG
AP Sports Writer
SUTTON COLDFIELD,
England (AP) - Sergio Garcia failed at only one thing all day
Friday. For that, you can blame the enthusiasm of youth.
The emotional leader
of the European Ryder Cup team, Garcia teamed up with Lee Westwood
to win two matches on opening day, including one against Tiger
Woods.
When it came time
for driving the 10th hole, though, Garcia wasn't up to the task.
Don't blame the 22-year-old
player for trying. He was the only one to make the attempt all
day with temperatures in the mid-50s.
"I was shocked
that he was trying to hit it when it was that cold out and no
wind helping," Davis Love III said. "And he almost pulled
it off. He did a heck of a shot."
Garcia hit driver
on the treacherous 311-yard hole over the big trees and almost
onto the green. He just missed, and the ball fell into the water
that extends around the green.
"If he'd have
been a yard or two to the right, it might have been on the green,"
Love said. "But you have to hit a miracle shot to get it
on."
In previous Ryder
Cups at The Belfry, players regularly tried to reach the par-4
green in one shot. But European captain Sam Torrance ordered the
tee moved back and to the right this year, and all the other players
have hit short irons to the fairway and then onto the green.
Not Garcia, though.
He and Westwood were 1-up on Love and David Duval when he went
for the green. Garcia ended up getting up and down for par and
the Europeans went on to win the match 4 and 3.
"If the wind
is right," Garcia said when asked if he would try for the
green again. "I actually feel like I hit that green every
day. If the wind feels the right way I'll probably go every day."
Garcia didn't go
for the green in the afternoon alternate-shot play, much to the
relief of Torrance.
"Obviously,
he can knock it in there. And it was four ball," Torrance
said. "Foursomes, I might give him a wee smack on the wrists,
but fourball is definitely worth the go. If you're confident enough
to knock it on the green, go ahead and do it."
____
ROOKIE TIME:@ It
was a good day to be a rookie, at least if you were on the American
team.
U.S. rookies were
involved in winning all 3 1/2 of the team's points.
David Toms won 1
1/2 of them paired with Phil Mickelson, while Scott Verplank and
Stewart Cink were both on the winning sides of their matches.
"I didn't even
realize David was a rookie," Mickelson said. "This is
a top five player in the world."
Strange said he sent
Verplank and Cink out for their first matches in the afternoon
to give them a chance to get used to the surroundings.
"It's all part
of knowing what's going on out there," he said. "And
I think this afternoon was probably more comfortable than this
morning would have been."
Europe's rookies
didn't fare as well.
Niclas Fasth got
beat in best ball, while Paul McGinley was on the losing side
in alternate shot.
___
AZINGER'S BEEF:@
Paul Azinger almost pulled off a big comeback when he knocked
a 7-iron to tap-in distance on 18 for a sure birdie that would
have given him and Tiger Woods a tie with Thomas Bjorn and Darren
Clarke.
Bjorn made a 20-footer
to make sure that didn't happen, and later Azinger complained
the course was set up to hurt the long hitting American team.
"We've got some
very powerful hitters that are forced to hit irons off every tee,"
Azinger said. "It's a home-course advantage, and they clearly
took advantage of it."
The fairways at The
Belfry are tighter than they were in 1993, and the tee on the
10th hole was moved back so the Americans are not trying to reach
the par-4 in one.
British tabloid writers
eager for any controversy tried to get Azinger's teammates to
weigh in on the comments.
They wouldn't bite.
"I think Paul
is a very fair person so I really want to hear his comments,"
Hal Sutton said. "I don't think he's too critical of anybody
when he shouldn't be."
____
AYE, AYE, CAPTAIN:@
Being a captain isn't the best way to see a Ryder Cup. Curtis
Strange found that out in his inaugural day on the job.
Strange spent the
day traveling from hole to hole, trying to keep track of the matches
in progress and root on his players.
"I found out
today that I see fewer shots than anybody else out here because
I'm running back and forth," Strange said. "The only
time I get to see shots is when I'm on a group and see some. And
I get the Jumbotron on No. 9."
____
HEY, MR. PRESIDENT:@
In 1999, the U.S. Ryder Cup team got a pep talk the night before
its big comeback from Texas Gov. George Bush, who went on to become
president.
Now Bush's father,
the former president, might come by to give the team a boost.
Strange said he had
been told Bush is in England and might come to the course and
visit the team.
"If he shows,
that would be great," Strange said. "If he's around
that afternoon, he's certainly more than welcome to visit the
room because he's a wonderful man."
____
COMEBACK KIDS:@ Much
was said about the comeback Phil Mickelson and David Toms made
from three holes down with four to play to get a half point tie
with Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer.
Torrance was just
as happy with how Montgomerie handled the 18th hole after the
Americans had won the previous three holes.
Montgomerie hit a
drive to the center of the fairway, then played a delicate pitch
shot to 8 feet after Langer hit it to the right of the green.
Langer missed the putt, though, and the Europeans had to settle
for a tie.
"His tee shot
on the last match was beautiful, a lot of pressure," Torrance
said.
Montgomerie had already
pleased Torrance by teaming with Langer in the morning best ball
to beat Jim Furyk and Scott Hoch.
____
DIVOTS: The wives
and girlfriends of the players were allowed inside the ropes to
follow their significant others, and they were among the most
enthusiastic of the fans. ... Tiger Woods wasn't too happy after
hitting his tee shot Friday morning. A photographer clicked a
picture in his backswing and he hit it into a fairway bunker.
... Langer found a way to get his ball onto the fairway from the
rough on the 17th hole of his second match. He got to take a drop
because it was in a crossway, and Langer used his extra-long putter
to mark the drop to get to the fairway.
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