Tuesday, August 17, 1999
Tiger Woods could meet Sergio Garcia again
at the Ryder Cup
By Hank Gola
New York Daily News
(KRT)
MEDINAH, Ill. - The chances of Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia
renewing their rivalry in a Ryder Cup setting at The Country Club
next month are pot luck, but how delicious would that be?
As American captain Ben Crenshaw added Tom Lehman and Steve
Pate as his two discretionary picks on Monday, the magic of the
final six holes of the PGA were still lingering in the hot Medinah
air. A week that had been bogged down in the Ryder Cup pay-for-play
controversy finished in a perfect way for the final major of the
'90s.
Woods won by one shot over El Nino, but there was definitely
a "to be continued" tag on the end.
"When you look at this finish and how it transpired, that
is the future of golf," said Crenshaw.
Crenshaw and European captain Mark James have no say in arranging
a Woods-Garcia matchup at Brookline. They each hand in a "batting
order," not knowing the other's. Both Woods and Garcia could
be placed in the No. 1 spot as the captains try to outguess each
other.
For Crenshaw, one of his most unenviable tasks is over. Lehman,
who was No. 11 in points heading into this past week, was an obvious
addition. Pate, though, took his call from Crenshaw in bed at
11 p.m. on Saturday night.
Crenshaw said he agonized over Bob Estes, who missed qualifying
for the team on points Sunday by one shot. He also considered
Lee Janzen, perhaps the Americans' best player at Valderrama,
five-time Ryder Cupper Fred Couples, 54-year-old Hale Irwin, Steve
Stricker and Chris Perry, who has been in the top 10 in five of
his last six tournaments.
In the end, Crenshaw chose Pate for his determination and grit.
"He's a very, very fierce competitor who would walk through
a wall for you," Crenshaw said. "Everybody I talked
to - it was unbelievable - said Steve Pate. Sure it was consensus,
but in my mind I really tried to determine who's playing well
right now and who's intent."
Lehman, like Pate, hasn't won a PGA Tour event this year but
has turned a corner since offseason shoulder surgery.
"I can't say enough about his diligence and determination,
his strength and his character," Crenshaw went on. "He
has worked so hard this summer."
Pate, a semifinalist in this year's World Match Play Championship
at LaCosta, was on the American team that won at Kiawah Island
in '91. But he was injured in an automobile accident on his way
to the golf course and played only one match.
"I think he deserved another chance," Crenshaw said.
No doubt Crenshaw would have killed for the chance to pick
Garcia, whom Lehman calls "Seve with a smile."
"There's no doubt in my mind that we saw something in
Sergio yesterday that is absolutely electrifying and captivating,"
Crenshaw said. "He's magic, he's charismatic, he's graceful."
Crenshaw told of meeting Garcia for the first time. "I
was at Muirfield Village at the (Memorial). It was the first time
I got to shake his hand," Crenshaw said. "He came over
and looked at me with that face and said, 'Mr. Crenshaw, this
is the first time I meet you.' He said, 'I have played well enough
to be on the U.S. PGA Tour. Would you pick me on your Ryder Cup
team?' "
If only he had that option. Now he has to figure out how to
beat him.
(c) 1999, New York Daily News.
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