Garcia tells golf media to get a grip
| • | El Niño hits Kapalua |
| • | Woods' rally proves he'll be tough again |
| • | Tournament historical statistics |
| • | Golfers boost Maui recovery |
Advertiser Staff
After Sergio Garcia's victory yesterday, much was made by the media of his address. Garcia stands over the ball for an exceptionally long period, re-gripping his club up to 30 times.
Garcia was ready to joke about it yesterday.
"Maybe amateurs are starting to try it," he said, "because it looks to me like it's working."
Beyond that, he brushed off criticism.
"I've always said, I'm not going to hit a shot until I'm ready," Garcia insisted. "If it takes me a hundred regrips, I don't care.
"It's the way I play. I don't say to you guys, 'You shouldn't grip the pen that way when you write' or 'You shouldn't blink as many times as you do when you're on the computer.' Everybody has their own way of doing things."
Garcia and David Toms agreed there is one way to avoid having Garcia's habit become an irritation. Ignore it.
"You know, I was listening to Gary McCord the other day saying, 'It annoys me,' " Garcia said, feigning anger. "Don't look. What can I tell you? There's nothing I can do. I'm not going to tell him to put his moustache this way or that way. If it annoys you, just look when you hear the click."
• Neck therapy: David Toms said he received therapy for a disc problem in his neck every day at Kapalua. After hitting a 3-iron on the second hole yesterday, he developed a muscle spasm and took medication to control it.
"It was a little more humid today because it wasn't as windy and that helped me," Toms said. "I just couldn't swing at the ball very hard, which maybe was a good thing. I played fine.
"The only place it really hurt me is, I thought I could get over the hazard on No. 5. I hit it as good as I can and left it in the hazard there."
That was Toms' only bogey of the day.
He said he still plans to play in this week's Sony Open.
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• Sergio Garcia, who won a Mercedes-Benz SL500 to go with his $720,000 winner's check, says it's a keeper:
"I think it's a great car, the kind of car I like. I have an old Mercedes at home, an SLK 320. I'm going to give that one to my caddie and I'm going to keep this one."
