Els, Garcia feel comfortable

2008-07-16 10:48

England - Sergio Garcia is from Spain, and Ernie Els hails from South Africa, but both feel right at home on the northwest coast of England.

Even before Tiger Woods had to call it a year to have more knee surgery, Garcia and Els would have liked their chances at a course like Royal Birkdale, with all those odd bumps, that howling wind off the Irish Sea, the ominous clouds hanging overhead in seeming perpetuity.

The site of this year's Open Championship is the sort of place where they learned the game, honing their swings and accepting that it's not necessarily a bad thing to hit a grounder from the middle of the fairway.

Garcia got his first sampling of it as a junior golfer, playing for Spain against a team from Britain. He was 12 years old, 13 perhaps, and fell in love with all the nuances and creativity.

"I've been fortunate enough to play a lot of links courses, a lot of links golf, and I love it," Garcia said on Tuesday. "It's different, and it brings so many different parts of the game ... with a lot of imagination. It's always good when you get challenged on the course."

Els developed a similar kinship with this style of golf, so different from the aim-and-fire brand common on the US PGA Tour with its perfectly manicured courses and smooth landing areas.

'Style of play'

The Big Easy has extensive experience on the European Tour. On this side of the Atlantic, he knows surviving can be more important than hitting pretty shots.

"Players like Sergio, like myself, feel very comfortable in this event more than any other," the 38-year-old Els said. "It's just because of the style of play, the style of golf courses, the layouts. I've played it since I was a teenager."

Some players might feel they have a better chance to shine with Woods watching from his couch back home, but both Els and Garcia sincerely believe they would have stacked up just fine against the world's greatest player this week.

"I feel I'm on a much better level with Tiger in this kind of environment than say at the Masters or the PGA," Els said. "Let's face it, Sergio is very much a factor over here. This tournament, for a lot of guys, you feel like you can take on a guy like Tiger on a much more level playing field."

Woods is a three-time Open champion, and he undoubtedly would have been the favorite if his knee was sound _ just as he is at every major he plays. But he's not here, so Garcia and Els are carrying the mantle of co-favorites, according to a popular British bookmaker.

The charismatic Spaniard has six top-10 finishes in the past seven years, including a playoff loss to Padraig Harrington a year ago at Carnoustie. Garcia had a 10-foot putt to win the tournament, but it slid by the edge of the cup, and the four-hole playoff was all Harrington. Garcia is regarded by many as the best player in the world not to win a major.

'Experience might help'

Among Els' three major titles was the 2002 British Open. He's been runner-up three other times - the most painful a playoff loss to unheralded Todd Hamilton in '04. Throw in a couple of third-placed showings, then marvel at the fact that 10 of his 17 appearances have resulted in top-10 finishes.

"I'd like to think that experience might help," Els said.

Garcia said he's gotten over last year's setback, which was probably his best chance yet to break through in one of golf's biggest events. Sure, it bothered him for a day or two, but he insists that he quickly changed his focus to everything that went right.

"It's not really that big a deal, you know? There's a lot worse things than losing an Open in a playoff," he said. "There were a lot more positives coming out of the week than negatives."

But Harrington was the one left holding the claret jug at the end of the day. After having possession of it for the past year, he returned it to the R&A on Tuesday - then revealed that he's bothered by a sore right wrist.

The Irishman sprained it last weekend while swinging into an "impact bag," sort of like a punching bag for golfers - only it's supposed to strengthen the wrist, not leave it hurting.

After skipping a couple of days of practice, Harrington finally made it onto the course on Tuesday. But he only managed to play nine holes, cutting back to mere chipping and putting on the back side.

The sight of Harrington walking the course - trailed by a caddie who had ditched the bag and was carrying a half-dozen wedges, plus a putter, over his shoulder - sent a murmur through the crowd at Royal Birkdale.

"If his wrist is hurting so bad that he can't play two days before the Open, it's not going to get any better now is it?" one fan said.

While conceding that a "tingly" feeling prompted him to skip the back nine, Harrington expects to tee it up in the opening round on Thursday, assuming he does no further damage in practice.

He planned to get in at least nine more holes on Wednesday, though he will pass on hitting out of the tangly rough until the shots actually count, looking to cut down on the risk of re-injuring the wrist.

- AP