Garcia, Clark reach milestone but still have a lot to achieve
By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
Not sure why we seem to single out 200 as a magic number when it come to starts on the PGA TOUR, but we do.
It's a milestone. Validation of a still somewhat young, yet solid career. Not just a pat-on-the-back couple of seasons intermittently battling the best the world has to offer. Not a sometimes thing.
And honestly, by the time you get there, there's usually a litany of wins -- and a major or two -- to go with the milestone.
Certainly there are interesting twists. Tiger Woods has played in just 253 events, while Phil Mickelson is teeing it up in his 407th event this week and Scott Verplank in his 564th. Jack Nicklaus, who never over-played a season in his life, has started 594 events. Arnold Palmer is the King -- no pun intended -- with 734 starts.
On the flip side, this is Paul Casey's 90th event; Rory McIlroy's 13th.
Which brings us to this week's World Golf Championships-CA Championship where we draw your attention to a pair of guys in that magic range -- 30-year-old Sergio Garcia who plays No. 200 this week and 34-year-old Tim Clark, who is two events ahead of him at 202 -- both of whom have yet to live up to their own expectations.
Garcia is unquestionably one of the most talented and charismatic players in the game -- a man who has fallen more than a few times in big events and is still searching for his major. Clark is a solid player you tend to overlook -- a likeable guy who has won more than $14 million but is still searching for his first TOUR win.
Trust us. Both know all too well what's missing.
Garcia has often tempted us, pulled us in, got us believing that this could be the week only to have it all come undone. The can't-miss-at-the-majors kid who has done nothing but. Think Bethpage, Medinah (twice), Carnoustie, Oakland Hills and even Pinehurst. Yes, he won THE PLAYERS in 2008 and has won six other times. Yet a few weeks ago, he was tearing up the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play bracket until the semifinals when he lost to eventual champ Ian Poulter 7 and 6, then got blown out 5 and 4 by Camilo Villegas in the consolation finals.
A PLAYERS and a World Golf Championships title? Not equal to a major, but a World Golf Championships win would have been another step toward one.
And Clark? He's lost a Masters (in 2006 to Mickelson), a U.S. Open (to Michael Campbell when he and Garcia shared third with Mark Hensby) and was in the mix at the 2003 PGA Championship when Shaun Micheel won with a miracle shot on the 72nd hole. He has finished second eight times -- including that 2006 Masters -- the latest in January when he layed up on the 72nd at the Bob Hope Classic and lost to Bill Haas by a shot.
The compact South African still threw out a closing bogey-free 65 that Sunday. And he knew it would be a reach for him get home in two. But, oh, what he would have given for a win.
It's one thing to have 18 majors and have finished second 19 times -- we don't have to tell you that's Nicklaus, do we? -- quite another to not have won, period.
Clark lost a playoff at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial last year, but managed four other top 10s and $2.23 million. This year, he backed up the Hope with a middle-of-the-pack T32 at the Northern Trust Open, then had a pair of top 10s at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and the Match Play. And he's won nearly three-quarters of a million in the first two months and he's ranked 19th in the all-around stats. Could this be the year?
And what about Garcia?
We've seen the brilliance. The joy. The creativity. We were there when he won his first TOUR event -- the 2001 Mastercard Colonial -- and it was impressive. He started the day five shots back and threw out a closing 63 to win by two shots. That, coupled with chasing Tiger down the stretch at the 1999 PGA Championship -- yes, the leap year -- got us wondering just how good this guy could be.
The perfect blend of countrymen Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal, Garcia has the talent. The maturity has been the hard thing. On a day when he could have defined his career at Carnoustie in 2007, he fell victim to himself and opened the door for Padraig Harrington. Thirteen months later, he lost to Harrington again -- this time at the PGA Championship -- but he didn't look for someone to blame. He knew -- finally -- he'd been outplayed.
Garcia struggled the entire 2008 season following a bad breakup with former girlfriend Morgan Leigh Norman. He finished T10 at the U.S. Open and had just two more the remainder of the season. This year? Well, the season's young. But he's already -- in some minds -- chasing Colombian Camilo Villegas, who has the same charisma and a win. Forget that Villegas' game is still maturing and, well, he hasn't been playing in Tiger's long shadow for a dozen years, either.
Which brings us back to the magic number. A nice round one. One that speaks volumes about consistency and talent. One that makes your head spin when it creeps into the 400s (Justin Leonard) and 500s (Davis Love III).
One that's a goal for guys like Ian Poulter (105) and Anthony Kim (77). One that's years away for -- and puts more than a bit of perspective on -- the most-talked player not in this field, one Rickie Fowler, who is at 15 starts and counting.
One that Garcia and Clark can build on as they search for that major and that first win.
Melanie Hauser is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. Her views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.
Shop your favorite brand name golf equipment and accessories at SHOP.PGATOUR.COM
LIVE VIDEO
PGATOUR.com is part of Turner - SI Digital, part of the Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network