Sergio Wins Player's Championship

Sergio Garcia bested the field at the TPC Sawgrass to win the Players Championship, widely considered to be golf's fifth major championship. Below is part of the story posted by ESPN.com that detailed Garcia's win after speculation he could not win 'the big one'.

"All that changed in the final hour of The Players Championship thanks to two clutch putts, a wedge that found safety on an island and a playoff victory that Garcia desperately needed."

While any respect I had for Sergio Garcia was lost during his Chiquita Banana-wearing appearance last year on the PGA Tour, he does have a lot of talent. However, as ESPN stated Garcia has never risen when the pressure was on, against the best players in the world, and grabbed victory on the big stage. According to ESPN and golf analysts, Sergio has finally broken through.

Since none of the more esteemed writers in the sports community will say it, I will. The win today by Sergio Garcia is not a career defining victory. Garcia did have a solid comeback with some great putts and a victory on the first playoff hole. Garcia did not go toe-to-toe with Woods, Mickelson and Singh. Instead he beat out Paul Goydos who self-destructed with a water ball on the famous 17th hole in the playoff to go with bogeys on 14, 15 and 18 to close out his final round.

While I respect every player on the PGA tour as any one of them could work me up and down the links and I consider myself to be a strong competitor, but Goydos is ranked #140 in the world and hits the ball shorter than most club pros at only 265 yards. Garcia did not win the Players Championship any more than Kansas won the National Championship, instead it was given to him as Goydos refused to win with his sloppy play into the club house.

Maybe I'm just being hard on Garcia, but until he can figure out his putter he will not be a top competitor in the PGA. Somewhere Tiger Woods is nursing his knee with his baby on one side and his super model wife on the other, licking his chops at the thought of annihilating Sergio Garcia at the US Open.

Tiger Woods out Four Weeks

Tiger Woods underwent surgery Tuesday to repair damage to his left knee. The injury had been plaguing Tiger for several weeks according to Woods and his agent Mark Steinberg. Woods' decision to undergo the knee surgery, or need for the surgery, were a well hidden secret as even his swing coach Hank Haney did not know Woods planned to get the surgery Tuesday until this week according to a quote on ESPN.

Tiger is expected to miss four weeks with the injury. The Players Championship will fall within that stretch and Tiger will be forced to miss the "Fifth Major" but should be ready to return by the US Open. The time away won't be new to Woods who missed considerable time in 2006 following the death of his father. Woods also has recovered from a similar operation in the past and anticipates rehabilitation to go smoothly.

While many are surprised Tiger did not advertise his ailing knee until the day of the surgery, I for one am very glad it was not known going into this past week. Tiger played well from tee to green at Augusta, but can you imagine what the announcers would have been like had they known of the knee injury? I am a Tiger fan for the most part, but there would have been few things worse on Sunday than having to hear how Tiger's knee impacted every poor shot and missed putt (you know they would have tried to blame the putting on the knee too).

Now the PGA realizes its real problem - ratings in events where Tiger Woods is not in the field. Somehow Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els don't seem to carry the same allure to the casual fan.

Ready for a Masterful Weekend

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are looking up, hoping for other players to slip down the leaderboard. (Image by Donald Miralle of Getty Images)


There are many signs of Spring. Robins appear, flowers sprout up, and Tiger Woods sightings are all over SportsCenter. At the half way point of The Masters fans are braced for a great weekend full of possible story lines. At -1 after shooting rounds of 72 & 71, Tiger Woods is 7 strokes off the lead, trailing Trevor Immelman who shot his second 68 on Friday.

Also in the mix is Phil Mickelson, whose ability to hit incredible shots as well as horrific shots (Winged Foot anyone?) makes him exciting to watch. Between Woods and Mickelson they combine for five of the last seven green jackets given out at what many consider to be the year's biggest event. Mickelson will tee off in the second to last group at 2:30, while Woods will beat him onto the course by 80 minutes with his 1:10 start.

While ESPN and other media outlets have pointed out the statistic that only one golfer has ever come back from being more than six back to win the Masters, Tiger Woods is far from out of contention. With tougher conditions expected for the weekend, Woods is still holding his status as betting favorite to win the tournament, rivaled most closely by Mickelson. Woods also came from six-back to win the 2005 Masters.

Trevor Immelman is a steady player and might not be as likely to slip up as a more volatile player like Mickelson or Sergio Garcia (Garcia's not in contention, but I can't pass up a chance to bash on the deliberate and streaky player..or his Chaquita Banana wardrobe), but he also hasn't been in as many pressure situations with the type of field on his heels as he'll have this weekend. Joining Woods in the group of players on the border of contention are Retief Goosen (-2), Vijay Singh (-1) and Jim Furyk (-1). While Woods will almost certainly make a move, expect one of these players to put on some pressure as well. With how they're playing right now, I expect Singh to be that person as he is only a hot putter away from really going low.

It's not a popular opinion because Tiger is always Tiger, but all the talk of Woods winning every major this year is getting really preemptive and winning the Masters is certainly in doubt at this point. After two rounds I like the steadiness of Immelman's game and the focus of Mickelson. If conditions really toughen up Tiger will be in position to make his move, but the field will have to come back to him a little, and with so many strong players at the top Woods will need to make more birdies. Tiger has had a few bad breaks with approach shots not holding or putts lipping out, and a few luckier bounces and a bit of momentum in his favor could be all he needs to make his charge.

If Mickelson falters and Woods fades, will you be watching CBS on Sunday?