Another week without Tiger? Yes. Now get over it -- quickly.
Instead of focusing on his absence, let’s concentrate on who is showing up at Riviera.
That would be eight of the top 10 in the world, folks. Henrik Stenson is your other absentee apart from Mr. Woods, in case you were wondering.
We also have the 2007 U.S. debuts of Sergio Garcia, 1999 champion Ernie Els and Retief Goosen.
Garcia, who hasn’t won anywhere since 2005, played all three events on the European Tour’s desert swing and didn’t exactly light things up between the dunes. Top-25 finishes in Abu Dhabi and Qatar were followed by a tie for 67th in Dubai.
Garcia is certainly in a bit of a funk right now. OK, so his performance in leading the Europeans to Ryder Cup glory was a stellar one, but a man of his talents should not be going winless for a year and a half.
So, what to blame for his lack of victories? He has had seven top-5 finishes since his victory at the European Masters back in September, 2005, so his play has been consistently good. He’s just still lacking that killer instinct. That Tiger-esque finishing swipe. That swagger.
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| Retief Goosen lifts the Qatar Masters trophy after his victory. (Getty Images) |
Oh, and don’t forget: Sergio is now dating Morgan-Leigh Norman, the daughter of Greg Norman who attends Boston College. I’m sure M-LN will also be doing some warming up in L.A. Warming up Sergio’s credit cards in Beverly Hills, that is. Although, come to think of it, she probably doesn’t need his money. Her weekly allowance from Daddy’s grass-growing business is probably equal to what Sergio earned in appearance money over the last month.
Now onto the Big Easy, who appears primed to reclaim his spot on top of the European Order of Merit that he relinquished in 2005 after hurting his knee.
He has produced eight consecutive top-10 finishes heading to Riviera, including a win in the South African Open in December. Although he won the Nissan Open title in 1999, that is his only top-20 finish in four trips to the event.
Unlike Garcia, Els fared very well in the desert swing. He was third in Qatar and second in Dubai. Expect another top-five finish this week from him, and possibly even a title. He knows that with Woods away, it’s his time to play….well, that is.
Finally, we get to the third big name making his U.S. splash this week -- The Goose.
Retief Goosen will not only be making his 2007 PGA Tour debut this week, but will also be showing his face at the Nissan Open for the first time. It’s a rare sighting of The Goose this early in a PGA Tour season, as he hasn’t played on the mainland before the Accenture since 2004.
Like his countryman Els, Goosen is currently on a good run of form. After finishing in a tie for fifth in Abu Dhabi, he won the Qatar Masters thanks to a superb birdie-eagle finish on Sunday that knocked Aussie Nick O’Hern from the top spot.
The win in Qatar ended a significant dry spell for Goosen, who only won once in 2006 -- at an Asian Tour event. It also sent a warning message out to those who were questioning his decision to employ a swing coach last season. It was the first time in his career that Goosen had made such a move, and it left many wondering if even Goosen himself was letting his winless period get to his head. Let the wondering cease, please.
