Thursday, January 3, 2002
[HAWAII GOLF]
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Woods, Garcia KAPALUA >> If ESPN has its way, Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia will enter Sunday's final round at the Mercedes Championships shoulder to shoulder through the 18th fairway.
ready to attack
The rivals start the PGA
Furyk ready to enjoy Hawaii trip
season on Maui today at the
Mercedes ChampionshipsBy Paul Arnett
parnett@starbulletin.comTwo years ago, Woods and Ernie Els produced the kind of drama that drew the largest television audience for golf ESPN had ever seen. Woods drained a 40-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole to win the 2000 event.
Els is not here for this week's PGA Tour winners-only tournament that began today with the Kona breeze kicking up its heels across the pineapple fields surrounding Kapalua's Plantation Course.
But with Garcia here competing in what could be a prequel to this year's major professional events, Woods still needs his "A" game to walk off the 18th green on Sunday with his third Mercedes title.
So far this week, the wind has blown in different directions, something that could give Woods an advantage over Garcia because he has played the course in all kinds of weather. For Garcia, this is his first time through.
"I've played here under just about every kind of condition," Woods said. "I've kind of seen it all. You know, that helps because I can recollect and reflect on some of the shots I played, why I played them, how I played them.
"Sometimes that's an advantage. Sometimes that's not an advantage. I've hit some balls in some places that just aren't good under certain wind conditions. You do think of that. The hard thing about this golf course is that the fairways are so wide, you feel guilty for missing them. But then the wind crops up like this, all of a sudden they narrow up quite a bit."
That could prove a problem for Garcia, who is competing in Hawaii for the first time. Garcia will continue his island tour at next week's Sony Open, but first, he'd like to fare well here against one of his main rivals.
"You know, I'm still a little bit rusty," Garcia conceded after yesterday's pro-am round. "But I'm looking forward to playing here for the first time ever. Let's see how it goes for the first time.
"As for the gap between me and Tiger, well, I think that 2010 you'll still be asking that question. But the gap is a lot closer, I think. You saw it last year. You've seen, of course, he's not playing as well as he played in 2000 or '99.
"But to play at that level your whole life, you've got to be unbelievable to do it. The gap is a little closer. That's good for everybody. I think he's capable of doing some things that some of us can't do. I mean, me, as I see myself almost 22 years old, you know, he's 26. I think that I can be good as he is at 26 when I'm 26, or hopefully sooner."
Woods just hopes he plays better here than last year. Not much of a threat, Woods blamed fatigue for his lack of fire as defending champion. He had played in eight consecutive tournaments coming in to the 2001 opener.
"But this year I've been able to have some breaks, get some time off," Woods said. "It was nice. It was great to get away from it and then come back and recharge, ready to go. I don't have any goals for 2002. Just every time I play to win. If I'm doing that, I'd have a pretty good season."
Woods conceded the young guns have a chance to take over the 2002 tour, starting these first two weeks in Hawaii, but he wasn't ready to count out some of the older players just yet.
"Obviously, there is a lot of talent out here," Woods said. "A new generation of players coming out. Some of the older guys that I've seen and watched as a kid are still playing well, are starting to get their games back, play at a higher level now. It's kind of neat. I guess I consider myself part of the young crowd."
Garcia certainly fits in that group. Like Woods, the young Spaniard doesn't lack confidence. One of his goals in playing 19 events on the PGA Tour and 11 on the European Tour is to be the leading money winner on both.
"Well, if I say I want to -- I didn't say I was going to," Garcia said, then smiled. "More than anything, if I'm able to win both of them, it will be amazing, playing as little events as I've played. You know, that's the expectations. You got to try to make them as high as you can so you're able to reach the closest to that goal that you have put on yourself.
"Yeah, of course I'm excited that Tiger is here. When he's in the tournament ... gives it a little extra spicy taste on it. You want to play against him and you want to beat him. If you're able to do that, your confidence is going to go higher."
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KAPALUA >> Jim Furyk was all set for a dramatic finish at last year's Mercedes Championships when Rory Sabbatini stabbed at a 3-foot putt on the 72nd hole and missed it, handing Furyk the win. Furyk ready to enjoy
Hawaii trip, againBy Paul Arnett
parnett@starbulletin.comThe defending champion would later say he wished he hadn't won it that way, preferring to walk off a winner via a playoff. The golfing gods got even with Furyk later in the 2001 season, however, when he lost to Tiger Woods in a seven-hole playoff at the NEC Invitational.
As he put it following yesterday's pro-am round, "Those things have a way of evening out."
For Furyk, the $4 million Mercedes Championships that began today at Kapalua's Plantation Course is a chance to find his game again. Going into the 2001 event, Furyk suffered a slight cartilage tear in his right wrist playing football, an injury that bothered him throughout the season.
"But I can't complain about it now," Furyk said. "It went away. I was afraid to pick things up. Not even until fall would I pick up a suitcase with my right hand. Just cautious. I'm still a little ginger with it because I remember. But it didn't really hamper my game.
"It's always a good feeling coming back to Hawaii. I have good memories here. I also won an event back here in '95. Maui has been pretty good to me. My wife and I enjoy coming here a lot.
"Our house here is supposed to be finished in March. My home is still Florida. I'm not planning on living in Hawaii. This will be more of a November, December kind of thing. Maybe some weeks off through the West Coast. My mom and dad are going to spend the most time here."
Furyk's only victory last year was here. Down four strokes at the start of the final round, he rolled in a birdie from 10 feet on the 18th to take a one-shot lead over Sabbatini. Furyk thought a playoff was in the making as Sabbatini stood over a short birdie putt. When he missed it, Furyk wasn't sure how he felt.
"But I'll take it," Furyk said.
"Today was an extremely strange wind. I almost wouldn't even consider it, early in the day, might be more of a Kona now, it was almost between the trades and a Kona. I've never played it in this wind. It's a little strange. It's interesting."
Like many in this week's elite field of 32, Furyk will take part in the Sony Open next week. Some of the golfers, like Woods, are traveling to New Zealand to play in a tournament Down Under.
But that would cut into Furyk's time in Hawaii, something he isn't interested in doing.
"I've always enjoyed playing in Hawaii," said Furyk, who teed it up this afternoon in the final twosome. "Right now, I'm kind of ready to go. I look forward to waking up every morning and getting to the course and working on things. This is always a fun tournament."