Saturday, August 28, 1999
First Tiger Woods-Sergio Garcia pairing fails
to heat up NEC at Firestone
By Brad Townsend
The Dallas Morning News
(KRT)
AKRON, Ohio - Golf's so-called future, Tiger Woods and Sergio
Garcia, walked side-by-side up the second fairway Friday, a large
gallery glued to every step, every gesture.
It was Woods' and Garcia's first competitive round together,
the first chance for fans and media to compare them swing-for-swing,
hole-by-hole.
The results were far from spectacular. Woods shot a 1-over
71. Garcia shot 70. They are among six players tied for sixth,
at 3 under, two shots behind leaders Paul Lawrie and Carlos Franco
midway through the NEC Invitational at Firestone Country Club.
Yes, this was the same Woods and Garcia who less than two weeks
ago produced one of the most electric back-nine Sunday finishes
in major championship memory, with Woods prevailing on the final
hole of the PGA Championship at Medinah, Ill.
This, however, was no re-creation. Sparks did not fly. Emotions
scarcely stirred. A birdie barrage never ensued (each posted only
two). Woods, 23, and Garcia, 19, were fairly talkative during
the first two holes but silent soon after.
"I wasn't talking to him too much," Woods said. "I
was taking care of my own business, and so was he. ... I wasn't
swinging the club well enough to chit-chat."
If anything, Friday was proof that golf holds no guarantees.
It can bring together two of the game's youngest and most charismatic
players in a $5 million limited-field event. It can provide a
large and, at least in the beginning, vocal following.
But on a day when the ground was saturated from rain, making
Firestone's South Course play even longer than its 7,139 yards,
even a promising rivalry like Woods-Garcia was, well, dampened.
They had played practice rounds at this year's GTE Byron Nelson
Classic, this year's Masters and this month's PGA Championship.
During the final round of the PGA, Woods was in the last group,
Garcia in the next-to-last. But this was their first pairing in
a tournament.
"Well, it was different just because it was a tournament,"
Garcia said. "I felt great playing with him and had a good
time. We didn't play real well, but those things happen sometimes."
Because storms washed out much of Thursday's first round, many
players had to play almost two full rounds Friday. Woods, for
example, finished only three holes Thursday. That meant he had
to play 33 holes Friday.
When Woods finished his first-round 66, one shot ahead of Garcia,
the fans had a dream Woods-Garcia matchup - and, almost, the quintessential
threesome.
Had Tom Lehman not birdied the 17th hole of his first round,
the NEC would have had a Friday afternoon threesome of Woods,
Garcia and David Duval. Instead, it had to "settle"
for Woods-Garcia-Lehman.
That's the beauty of this event, limited only to the 41 players
who made the '98 Presidents Cup and '99 Ryder Cup teams. There
are no bad pairings. And, potentially, there are a lot of great
ones.
Firestone's traditional layout, and undulating greens, may
not allow a birdie frenzy this weekend. But, more than likely,
come Sunday, it will produce marquee names contending for the
$1 million first prize. If not Woods-Garcia, then perhaps Woods-Duval,
Duval-Phil Mickelson or Mickelson-Davis Love III.
Woods, who raised his arms and looked skyward after he finally
got a 25-foot birdie putt to fall on No. 17, realized there is
plenty of time for drama this weekend, and many future Woods-Garcia
pairings.
"There was a lot more at stake at Medinah," he said
"That was the final round of a major. This is the only the
second round of a tournament. Now, if we were coming down the
stretch on Sunday, that's a different story.
"It's only Friday, and we're only trying to set ourselves
up for the weekend. I have a lot of work to do and so does he."
(c) 1999, The Dallas Morning News.
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