SOUTHPORT, England -- Ladies and gents of sporting fandom, most of the guys in the field this week have a message for anybody who feels the British Open has been devalued because of the absence of a certain player.
Kiss my asterisk.
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| Sergio Garcia on Tiger Woods' absence: '... the Open is bigger than any of us, even Tiger Woods.' (Getty Images) |
Which, as it relates to winning a purportedly cheapened major championship because the game's top star is missing, has been renamed Royal Irkdale.
"I just hope they've taught the engraver how to put an asterisk on the trophy, then everyone will know what the tournament was all about," Ogilvy said, dripping enough sarcasm to fill the Claret Jug.
Sure, the raw math says that 1/156th of the field is missing this week at Birkdale, which in itself suggests no cause for consternation. But when the one is No. 1, and his name is Tiger Woods, then perception and reality are impossible to separate.
If Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen defending champion Padraig Harrington or any of the other top guns in the world were missing or hurt, little notice would be taken. But those guys haven't won 14 major championships -- not even combined.
Eventually, after some semblance of reason took root, Ogilvy conceded that deleting Woods from the pairing sheet could change the Sunday dynamics and make winning fractionally easier, since Woods won't be around to fight for the trophy he's hoisted three times previously. Others didn't quite see it that way.
Absence hasn't made their hearts grow fonder. It's easily the hot-button issue of an otherwise quiet week -- which is not to be confused with a mute-button issue, of course.
"It doesn't matter," Sergio Garcia said of Woods' disabled status and its impact this week. "With all due respect, the Open is bigger than any of us, even Tiger Woods. And if I happen to never play golf again or Tiger happens to never play golf again, the Open will still be played, and that's the most important thing.
"Nobody is bigger than the tournament itself, and it can be a great player, but it doesn't matter. You know, if I manage to win this week, I'm not going to go, 'Oh, I won the British Open but Tiger wasn't there.'"
Plenty of others will, however, and it's a darned salient point.
For the winner this week, not to mention the PGA Championship in three weeks, the millions earned in prize money will spend just as well, a five-year tour exemption shall be secured with no strings attached, endorsement deals will be proffered and the venerable trophy will lose none of its shine on their fireplace mantle.
