El Nino Storms Back To Augusta

A year ago, Sergio Garcia brought his energy, his scissors kick and his good-looking game to the Masters. He was the low-scoring amateur at Augusta and offered a tantalizing glimpse of the future of golf.

El Nino is back as a professional this time, with a different set of expectations, some of which he may not be ready to handle.

With every success, there has been failure. His exciting performances at the PGA Championship and Ryder Cup have been offset by the firings of two caddies and his struggles on the tour early this year.

"You have to realize, I'm still very young, still 20, and there's a lot of time to come," Garcia said. "And if it doesn't come this year or next year, I'm sure it will come, because of confidence within myself."

Still, many people think the Spaniard should be on or near the leaderboard every week, starting right now. They envision Garcia setting himself up as a long-term challenger to Woods and giving the sport a rivalry in the 21st century.

Those are the expectations brought by his success last year.

It was at the PGA Championship last August that Garcia pulled off the shot of the year, banging a 6-iron from between two tree roots, then running up the fairway scissors kick included to watch the ball land 60 feet from the cup.

It was a dangerous play that showed the nature of his swashbuckling style. Garcia finished third, but got the golf world excited about a possible rivalry with Woods.

A month later, Garcia offered up some of the most scintillating golf in the Ryder Cup, going 3-1-1 and leaping into the arms of partner Jesper Parnevik after halving a match against David Duval and Davis Love III.

But there has been no third act to Garcia's show, unless you count the day he threw his shoe into the crowd after slipping on a tee shot at the World Match Play championship in England.

He has shot only one stroke-play round under 70 this year, and is showing signs he may not be completely prepared for the spotlight.

"Sergio needs time to figure things out," Woods said. "He's got a lot to learn about this tour and about himself."

Garcia has taken to blaming his struggles on other people, most notably his caddies. He fired one of the best in the game, Fanny Sunesson, two weeks ago after shooting an 82 and missing the cut at The Players Championship.

"At the end, she wasn't happy and I wasn't happy," Garcia said. "And if I'm not happy on the golf course, I usually don't play my golf."

Late last year, Garcia split with Jerry Higginbotham, another caddie considered to be aong the best.

"Sergio's only 19 and he wants everything," Higginbotham said at the time of his departure. "He'll probably learn down the road that just because you have one bad week, it's not the caddie's fault."

It has been more than one bad week.

In fact, Garcia hasn't finished higher than 35th in the four stroke-play events he has entered this year.

He has been criticized for playing with too flat a swing plane. And many critics suggest he needs somebody other than his father, Victor, working with him on his game.

Garcia comes into the Masters trying to match Woods' accomplishments of 1996 and 1997, when Woods posted the lowest amateur score the first year, followed by his history-making victory the next.

As he heads into Augusta, however, Garcia is more concerned about getting comfortable with his own game than trying to create a rivalry with Woods.

"I know I can play well because I've shown it," Garcia said. "There's still a lot of time, and I'll try to take it easy. If it comes perfect, that's good, or if I have to wait a little, I'll wait."

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