Sergio Garcia has yet to take the expected step into individual greatness, but team-oriented competition suits him perfectly.
By BOB HARIG, Times Staff Writer
Published September 28, 2006
Since leaving Tiger Woods with a sincere scare at the 1999 PGA Championship and being anointed the next great rival for the game's best player, Sergio Garcia has seen a steady stream of less-heralded players walk away with major championship hardware while he has yet to claim his first.
But nobody has been better at the Ryder Cup.
The Spanish star showed that again last weekend in Ireland, where his 4-1 record was the best of any player and where he shined in the team competition.
Meanwhile, he remains 0-for-the majors, which sort of begs the question: Why is Garcia so good in the Ryder Cup and so shaky in the game's biggest individual tournaments?
"Everybody complains that he's not a good putter everywhere else," said U.S. team member Chris DiMarco at the Ryder Cup. "But he's making a lot of putts this week."
And he hit a lot of great shots.
Paired with countryman Jose Maria Olazabal in the Friday morning fourballs, they cruised to a 3 and 2 victory over David Toms and Brent Wetterich, losing just one hole.
Then with England's Luke Donald in the afternoon foursomes, they dispatched Woods and Jim Furyk 2-up.
It was more of the same Saturday as Garcia and Olazabal defeated Phil Mickelson and DiMarco 3 and 2 in fourball, then paired with Donald again to defeat Mickelson and Toms 2 and 1 in foursomes.
Although he ran into a hot Stewart Cink in Sunday singles, denying him a chance to become the first European player in the Ryder Cup to go 5-0, Garcia was the undeniable leader of the 18½ to 9½ victory - the third time in four tries he has been on a winning team.
"I can't live without it," Garcia said of the Ryder Cup. "It makes for an unbelievable week. It is special because it is difficult to get into the team. Winning is definitely more satisfying than winning an individual event.
"The more fun I have, the better I play. My swing is looser. My thoughts are better."
And perhaps that helps explain his relative lack of success in the biggest individual events.
Garcia, 26, has been a top 10 player in the world for several years. A winner of six PGA Tour titles and six in Europe, he figured to have notched a major championship by now after finishing second to Woods at the 1999 PGA Championship when he was just 19.
But since then, he has seen players such as David Duval, Rich Beem, Mike Weir, Ben Curtis, Shaun Micheel, Todd Hamilton, Michael Campbell and Geoff Ogilvy win majors.
Woods has won 10 majors, Mickelson three, Retief Goosen two in that time.
In fact, not a single European player has won a major over the period of this Ryder Cup winning streak.
"I think that it is pretty interesting," Woods said. "When it comes right down to it, (the Ryder Cup is) match play over 18 holes. And anything can happen in an 18-hole sprint. When you play a 72-hole stroke-play event ... it's more of a marathon. It's about being consistent, it's about never making big numbers, and when you get in those 18-hole sprints, if you get 2-down, 3-down early, you don't really come back from those deficits. In stroke play, you could be three down after the first nine holes ... but you've got 63 holes to go. It doesn't really bother you that much."
And at the Ryder Cup, a partner backs you up.
That was not the case in July at the British Open, where Garcia got into position and was paired with Woods in the final group, one shot back.
But after three-putting twice and making four bogeys on the front nine, he was out of it by the turn.
Then he goes to the Ryder Cup and improves his overall record to 14-4-2, including 13-1-2 in team formats. He is 8-0 in alternate shot. In four Ryder Cups, Garcia has played in all five sessions.
"Sergio just lifted his own game unbelievably, which he always seems to do when he plays in the Ryder Cup," European captain Ian Woosnam said. "He has the spirit, the Spanish spirit, out there with Olazabal. What a great pairing."
Before playing in his first Cup in 1999, Garcia said he consulted with countryman Seve Ballesteros, who guided the Europeans to victory in 1997 as captain and played a big role in the event's resurgence as one of Europe's top competitors.
He learned to enjoy the surroundings and take pride in beating the Americans.
"Even when we lost at Brookline, it was great," Garcia said. "I was just out on tour and got to know a lot of the players."
Garcia's infectious enthusiasm rubs off, although it still is a mystery why this kind of play does not translate to other great tournaments.
As much as the Europeans like to indict American golf because of the Ryder Cup, the fact remains that they have not won a major since 1999. And golf, after all, is an individual sport, one that turns into a team affair on rare occasions. So while the Europeans have won three Ryder Cups in a row, five of the past six and eight of 11, Americans have won 21 of the 28 majors since Scotland's Paul Lawrie won the 1999 British Open.
For Garcia, perhaps it would be better if the majors were team events.
"If you look at Garcia, he's glowing when he's playing together with someone else," said teammate Robert Karlsson. "He just loves this competition."
