Garcia's in his element in Ryder Cup spotlight

Spaniard tops Europe in winning percentage

LOUISVILLE, KY. -- Sergio Garcia tried to play coy this week when the question came.

Asked if he intentionally tries to irritate the American side during the Ryder Cup matches, something he's been effective doing whether he tries to or not, Garcia at first claimed not to understand the question.

He asked for clarification, though his English is almost as good as his short game, then feigned a lack of understanding.

Eventually -- and in a classically Sergio way -- he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Because I play well? Sorry, what can I say?" And he tried, not very hard, to suppress a grin.

As the Ryder Cup matches begin today at Valhalla Golf Club, Garcia is the central character in what is, otherwise, an ensemble performance.

Just 28, Garcia is older than that in Ryder Cup years. If his individual career is shadowed by his inability so far to win a major championship, it is counterbalanced by his remarkable Ryder Cup success.

Garcia is 14-4-2 in the Ryder Cup, the best winning percentage of any European who ever played at least three of these events. More impressive, if that's possible, is his 8-0 record in alternate-shot, which explains why he'll be on the tee this morning with Lee Westwood to face Kenny Perry and Jim Furyk.

Sergio is not an annoyance. He's the stubble-cheeked face of the Ryder Cup.

"Just an amazing, passionate player," American captain Paul Azinger, who knows a little about passion, said.

"There's something that happens inside him that just fits this format. If you could bottle it, you would probably sell it. I don't know what it is. It's intangibles."

No one would like to bottle it more than Garcia.

In the sunshine this week, Garcia has been out with his teammates, backslapping, talking and smiling through practice rounds.

Today, when the screws are turned tight and continental pride is at stake, Garcia will be at his favorite place in golf.

In an individual game, Garcia has been at his best with partners. The hole gets bigger, the thrill is heightened, the payoff greater.

It has been suggested that Garcia is such a different player in the Ryder Cup that he's practically unrecognizable.

Truly, the sound of celebratory singing on those victorious Sunday evenings is music to Garcia's ears.

"I say it from the bottom of my heart, I would rather go 0-and-5 and win the Ryder Cup as a team than go 5-and-0 and lose it," Garcia said.

It's not hard to believe him.

"When you see Sergio, you see Seve," European captain Nick Faldo said, offering perhaps the highest compliment Garcia could receive, drawing a comparison to his fellow Spaniard, Ballesteros.

There have been times when the passion has spilled over the cup's edge. When Garcia did snow angels in the fairway after Europe's 2002 win, it prompted Jim Furyk to say, "We lost to 11 gentlemen and one little boy."

Four years ago in Detroit, Chris DiMarco suggested to Garcia that he settle down during a match.

It would help if the Americans could find someone to beat him. It may be more difficult this year, given the way Garcia has evolved as a player.

He has spent the second half of the summer on leaderboards, threatening to win almost every week.

"The way he's playing, the more patient he stays, the better his performance is," Faldo said. "We've seen it. He's a different guy, isn't he?"

At the Ryder Cup, he'll settle for being the same old Sergio.