Sergio Garcia is a good, but not great golfer. He carries himself and gets the attention of
someone who has won seven majors, but, unfortunately, for all his talent, Garcia doesn't
have a single one. Zero. Zippo. Nothing. If critics want to say Tiger Woods is not completely
back until he wins a major, then nobody can say Garcia has really arrived until he captures
at least one.
There is one thing Garcia has gained elite status in: complaining. We'll get to the choking
part later. On Saturday, Garcia, playing with Tiger, whined about hearing noise created by
the crowd following Tiger as he was about to hit his second shot on the par-5 second hole.
Keep in mind, Garcia was 50 yards away from Tiger and the massive crowd when he decided
to hit. And of course, Sergio hit a shot he didn't like and started acting like a petulant 5-year
old child who didn't get his way.
In fairness to Tiger, there's no way he could even see Garcia hitting. Anybody who's followed
Tiger at a tournament knows he's like the pied piper. He walks, and everybody falls behind him.
Tiger would've needed a telescope from a nuclear sub to see over the crowd to where Garcia was,
who, again, was 50 YARDS away.
Secondly, it's not like Tiger turned to the crowd and asked, "should I hit a 5-wood and go for
it, or lay-up with a 7-iron?" He simply pulled a club out of his bag and the crowd made a small
noise, not a roar. That was enough for Garcia, who has choked on the pressure during a few majors within his grasp, to come unglued.
Worse yet, Garcia complained about it to NBC during a two-hour rain delay during the round. Are
you kidding me? Before the round was finished? Against Tiger? Those watching at home gathered
themselves and gave a collective, "whaaaaaaaaaaaaa". Garcia blamed Tiger for hitting a poor shot
and keeping him from getting off to a good start.
Tiger's response? Sergio is always complaining about something. Keep in mind, Garcia complained
to the press during a rain-soaked round at the U.S. Open a decade ago, that the tournament would've
been stopped if Tiger was on the course. Now, that's funny.
What was funnier, was that Garcia continued to complain about Tiger and didn't back down. He
stated that Tiger is "not true to himself" and that's he's "not the nicest guy on tour." Yeah, he
pumped up his chest and went after Tiger, which most golfers have already found out, especially when he's playing well, is not a good thing.
And really, who gives a rats ass if a player is "nice" on tour. Golf is an individual sport with no
guaranteed contracts and signing bonuses. Golfers play for their paychecks every week. Nobody
gets points for being nice. Was Michael Jordan the nicest guy in the NBA? Hardly. Was Jim
Brown "Mr. Congeniality" during his reign in the NFL? Doubt it. Tiger doesn't care anymore
if he's liked or not. His personal life is not our business and he's past that. Tiger is a golf
assassin. Fans love that Tiger goes for the jugular and wants to bury his opponents.
When it comes to crunch time, Tiger is usually the one who can handle the pressure, Garcia
has consistently proved that he cannot. Whenever he has a major championship within his grasp,
he melts under the pressure.
On Sunday, in golf's unofficial "fifth major", Garcia became a train wreck for everyone to see.
He was tied with Tiger on 17 when he hit not one, but two balls in the water. I almost thought
he was going to run over to NBC golf reporter, Roger Maltbie, and blame it on the brightness
of Tiger's shirt in the background. He must've been distracted. Garcia also fed the fish on 18.
Nice. It must have been Tiger's girlfriend, Lindsey Vonn, who caused Garcia to hit one in the
lake. Good, lord.
Tiger walked off with his 4th win of the season and 78th of his career. Garcia left with his tail between legs, but not before he complained to the media that he was "the victim" in the war
with Tiger. "The victim?" Now, that is comical, really comical. Garcia became just another
player who tried to bow up to Tiger, only to get buried.
Squeaky wheels might get the oil, but whiners don't get sympathy, much less victories over
Tiger. I hope Garcia learned his lesson. He should just keep his mouth shut until he actually
wins something of significance. And if he's going to complain about someone, he should target
someone like Jason Dufner, you just don't do it to the best player on the planet who has an
iron will and wants to crush you.
To me, Sergio Garcia will forever be "the victim" and the complainer until he wins a major
and keeps his mouth shut. I hope he learned his lesson. Right now, he's just the butt of a lot
of jokes.
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