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Originally Posted by Hwjb
Kev,
I'm not having that!
I'm sure you know a great deal more about golf than I do (I don't really follow it week in week out), but IMO Garcia is an amazing iron player, who is wonderful around the greens (Ballesteros-esque). Sporadically he can show his brilliance (normally on the first couple of days of a major, or in the Ryder Cup), and it is his putting which consistently lets him down. I don't think that he's a choker per se (unlike the likes of Clark, Harrington, Monty and poss Howell), but more that he seems to thrive playing amongst a team. Monty has proven himself Europe's best player over the last dozen years or so, but he seems only able to show his very best when the weight of expectation is off, or he feels the comfort of a team around him. I wonder whether Sergio will prove similar.
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Harry,
I respect your opinion, but here is the way I feel about a few things.
1.) I don't put ANY stock whatsoever in ANYONE'S Ryder Cup record. I have played both types of formats, team and individual stroke play, in many tournaments and I will tell you that the two are about as far about as you can imagine. The only people that take any kind of stock in Ryder Cup records is the media. They either use it to drag a player down or build a player up.
2.) I wouldn't lable Monty a choker. Anyone that leads the Order or Merit for 7 straight years is doing something right. I like Monty and have a tremendous amount of respect for him. It's a shame that he never won over here in the US, but I don't think that will take away from the greatness of his career. He contended in quite a few majors over here and didn't pack it on Sundays. He was involved in that great US Open at Congressional, eventually losing to Ernie Els in an 18 hole playoff. Tom Lehman was the 3rd player in that playoff. I hate the fact that Monty was given a bad rap over here, I also enjoyed his "matter of factness"
3.) You say Sergio is a great iron player...yes he is, I agree, but so is every player out there. All those guys, on both tours, hit it great. I have been on the practice tee for PGA Tour events and Nationwide events and you want to know the difference in the two??? NOTHING!!! The guys on the Nationwide Tour strike the ball every bit as solid as the guys on the PGA Tour. If someone took a poll of players on Tour and asked them what the difference is in the top players vs. others, 99% of them will tell you
"100 yards and in". Meaning, the top players can get the ball in the hole from 100 yards an in, taking only 2 shots to do so a great majority of the time. There are guys on every Tour that can hit 16-17 greens a round, but only shoot even par. Those guys are FANTASTIC ball-strikers, just like Sergio. But if you can't chip or putt, your gonna struggle.
Sergio is lucky that he has a great imagination around the green and is a good chipper, because he can't putt worth a crap. Yes, he has an occasional hot round or hot week with his putter, but for the most part he does not have it. He is the king of posting a great round on Saturday's in a major, but come Sunday when he is near the lead...BYE BYE....he has no heart and no nuts. He plays himself out of contention really quick and then when all the pressure is off him, he may make a couple birdies at the end of the round to make his finish in the major look better than it really was.
He is simply in the spotlight because he is young, brash, full of piss and vinegar, and the media looked at him for a while as a rival to Tiger. The media has finally realized that Sergio is not in the same ballpark as Tiger, but not many people are. He is back in the spotlight this week because of the Ryder Cup, but give it a couple weeks and he will be right back with the rank and file players of the PGA Tour....one of many great ballstrikers that can't putt, has no heart or sack when it matters....content to finish top 5 a few events every year and count their money.