Profile / Bill Elliott / 11 November 2008 / Leave a comment

Bill Elliott has watched Sergio's mighty play of late and is convinced the Spaniard has at last come to terms with a certain Mr Woods' pre-eminence.

Remember the USPGA Championship of 1999? This was the one that saw a teenage Sergio Garcia chase Tiger Woods to the finishing line, his deliberately sliced shot from behind a tree a highlight of the year, his over-excited gallop in triumph when it came off, the on-course celebration of that season.

Remember what happened next? Yes, that's right, Sergio all but disappeared into a weird world of tantrums and nervous disorders. At one point psychiatrists queued up to try to explain why he gripped and regripped his clubs a score and more times before finally hitting the ball. What a pity, we all thought, no sooner do we seem to have a natural rivalry betwixt two towering talents than Garcia falls apart and concedes the kingdom to Woods.

Well, it has taken some time, but in my house we are now convinced that the Spaniard is not just back but better than ever and ready to resume head-to-head stuff with Tiger when The Great One returns from surgically imposed exile. This, believe me, is terrific news for a sport that needs these upfront and personal battles to encourage sponsors and worldwide TV audiences.

And, yes, I know there will be sceptics out there who will have been burned in the betting arenas over the years as Garcia flatters and then collapses. You may well be one of these unfortunate punters, I know I am. Yet despite these frustrations I now urge you all to accept that Sergio Garcia is indeed the real deal.

His victory at The Players' Championship this summer underlined his ability to recover from major setback and to focus fully on the game that has made his fortune. When he lost the 2007 Open Championship to Padraig Harrington he was, naturally, shredded. His subsequent play that year suggested a car-crash victim who had lost his nerve forever.

Fact is, however, that the truly anointed ones can reinvent themselves. Harrington was a touch lucky to win that Open - Garcia's putt for the Championship on the 18th green was as good a blow as he ever has delivered and neither he nor I understand why it failed to drop - and eventually Garcia realised that sometimes it is not enough for a man to be outrageously talented, he needs a smidgeon of good fortune as well.

Woods, by contrast, is not only a fabulously competent player, he is lucky too. Not flukey, just a bit blessed when it comes to the biggest moments on the most significant stages. Harrington, too, has been kissed by fate when he has needed it most during his romp through the majors recently.

Consider this: The Irishman surely will be Europe's official Golfer of the Year when the poll of golf writers is completed in a few weeks time but the fact is that Garcia was one blundering shot away from this accolade. If, and it's a really big IF admittedly, he had found the 16th green instead of the water during the USPGA Championship then he surely, not Padraig, would have been the first European to secure that trophy for 76 years.

He hit the weak approach of course, but his misfortune this time was to be paired with Harrington who just by standing there encouraged all those bad Carnoustie vibes to resurface. This is something Sergio needs to get over. I am convinced he all but has done this very thing.

His victory in Shanghai this week encouraged such thoughts. He is now officially ranked second only to Woods and even has a slim chance of becoming No.1 depending on exactly when, how well and how often Tiger returns to the scene next year.

Meanwhile, there is no sensible doubt that Garcia is at least the equal, possibly even superior, to Tiger tee to green. Where Woods has the advantage - where he always will have the edge - is when it comes to putting. Garcia will continue to miss frustratingly from a few feet now and then but the other thought is that his putting really has improved 100 per cent over the last couple of years.

Reaching the No.2 spot in the world rankings is a big deal for him and it is where he deserves to be. When he started out he believed he was destined to be the very best but, at 28, he is mature enough now to accept that he will never be better than The Next Best Thing.

He is also smart enough to know that this is not a bad position to occupy. Expect him to win at least one of those majors in 2009. At least with a bit of luck he will.