Sergio Garcia's summer of woe continues in FedEx Cup Barclays

Chris Baldwin,
Contributor

HARRISON, N.Y. - Sergio Garcia slammed his clubface into the ground, started talking loudly to himself. Garcia's round was only about half over (this scene happened on the ninth fairway), and he already knew a frustrating summer had grown worse.

This season of heat started with such promise for Garcia, with him holding a big final round lead at the British Open. It's been unraveling ever since, with that Carnoustie collapse and playoff loss, with a disqualification from the PGA Championship for failing to check his scorecard closely enough and now with more pain in a big event.

Like many of his PGA Tour colleagues, Garcia may not be caught up in FedEx Cup fever (and yes, that's probably the first and last time you've ever heard the term FedEx Cup fever). But Garcia understands these are star-studded events (The Barclays had every top-30 player but Tiger Woods), and he feels he needs an impressive performance.

"Obviously the PGA didn't end the way I wanted it to," Garcia said. "I would have liked to have been able to go out there and play one more day. All I can do now is try and end the season on a good note. This is a chance for me to play some really good golf and get some things done."

Garcia couldn't get much done but club battering in the final round, though. He shot a 2-over 73, finished 5-under and never challenged in the tournament despite having given himself plenty of chances the first few days.

The 27-year-old who looked so close to a breakthrough first major win in July is now muttering to himself in the fairways in late August.

"Things change quickly in this game," 40-year-old event winner Steve Stricker said. "You never know what's going to get you rolling one way or the other."

Ernie Els done in by Westchester par 5

Ernie Els eagled all three of the par 5s at Westchester Country Club at least once this week. But in the final round, with a win in sight, Els found himself scrambling just to make par on the par-5 ninth. It ended up being an impressive recovery - especially after his first shot in a bunker went less than six inches - but it still is the hole that ended up costing Els a real chance.

It started with Els hitting his drive into the first cut of rough on the right, and it only got worse from there. Els sailed his second shot far left into the deep bunker just below the green. The bunker lie couldn't have been more awkward. Still, Els also couldn't have hit a worse shot.

He sort of swatted at it, and the ball barely moved, just dropping down slightly. Els hit his fourth shot onto the green and sunk a long putt for par, but even as the crowd roared, Els wore the look of someone who knew he'd missed a chance.

He'd finish 12-under, with two more bogeys on the back nine, four shots behind the winner.

K.J. Choi no Tiger Woods baiter

The only time K.J. Choi laughed after a final round 70 left him two shots short came when someone asked him how it felt to have more Cup points than Tiger Woods.

"Yeah ...," Choi said. "Obviously Tiger Woods wasn't here this week, but I'm sure he's going to gain all of the points back."

Choi will never be mistaken for Rory Sabbatini.

Still, heading into the second of the four playoff tournaments next weekend, Choi is one of three players ahead of The Barclays-skipping Tiger. Stricker is first with 104,950 points after picking up 9,000 for the win. Choi is second (102,900), Sabbatini is third (100,650) and Tiger's now fourth with 100,000.

Of course that could change quickly next weekend. A win in Boston would put Tiger back in first unless Stricker finishes second.

A cooked Goosen?

After going a combined 6-under the first two days, Retief Goosen turned around and went 6-over for the weekend with matching 74s. This even par finish left the former two-time U.S. Open champ tied for 60th with such heavyweights as Dean Wilson and Joe Durant.

It also left many surprised, as Westchester CC was described as a "U.S. Open style course" by pro after pro. That's the type of course that's supposed to benefit Goosen.

Calcavecchia's two putter Barclays move

Quietly, Mark Calcavecchia enjoyed the best final round of any of the top 30 players. Calcavecchia shot a six-under 65, his second straight 65 on the weekend. That brought him to 12-under, ahead of Phil Mickelson (11-under), but since he started the day eight shots back of the lead almost nobody noticed Calcavecchia's move until he had the 65 on the scoreboard.

The fans who did check out Calcavecchia couldn't help but notice he had two putters in his bag.

That's right, Calcavecchia threw out his 5-wood in favor of a regular putter to go with his belly putter. He uses the belly putter for anything inside 20 feet, but now sticks to a standard short putter for long putts. Turns out his belly putter had been causing him some laundry malfunctions on long putts.

"Those 40 to 50 footers, it comes out of your belly sometimes, gets hung up in your shirt," Calcavecchia laughed. "It's a disaster."

August 27, 2007

Chris Baldwin keeps one eye on the PGA Tour and another watching golf vacation hotspots and letting travelers in on the best place to vacation.