Time and tide will wait for 'El Nino'

The conquistador is all smiles, which is his usual way. People sometimes forget that Sergio Garcia is all of 24 years of age, a golfer who has grown up before his time. Ever since he marked his debut season on the European Tour in 1999 by winning the Irish Open when still a teenager, he's been lumbered with great expectations; from himself as much as anyone else.

Yet, he knows, that time is his ally, not a foe.

Yesterday, on the eve of a tournament he would dearly like to win on a course he knows like the back of his hand, Garcia said that those who question his major credentials are being premature in their judgments.

"They always forget to say, 'the best player yet to win a major . . . is 24 years old' . If I'm lucky and injuries behave, I think I am going to have so many chances to win majors that I'm not even worried about it. I'm sure it will happen."

In saying those words, Garcia is putting his hands to his head and adding, "touch wood".

Superstitious or not, the Spaniard - who flits between the US Tour and the European Tour - is playing on this side of the Atlantic at a time when many others have preferred to chase the dollar in America. One reason is that he has to play in the Volvo Masters to fulfil his obligation of playing in 11 European Tour events this season, the other is that this is a tournament he wouldn't want to miss anyway.

"You know, there's no doubt this is one of the tournaments I most want to win, and more so when it is played here at Valderrama," said Garcia. "I'm very good friends, as you know, with (course owner) Mr (Jaime Ortiz-) Patino and I actually practice quite a bit here when I have some time off. To be able to win a big event here would mean a great deal for me."

Of course, apart from his Ryder Cup exploits, it's been a year when Garcia has rediscovered the knack of winning. In fact, he's won three times this year - the Byron Nelson and the Buick Classic on the US Tour, the Madrid Open two weeks ago on the European Tour - and justified his decision to restructure his swing, which involved readjusting his set-up and also changing his takeaway.

"On the set-up," he explained, "I'm a lot taller than I used to be. My body is standing up a lot more and that's helping me start my swing on a better line.

"Where it used to be a bit more down and my hands use to be lower and my backswing was a bit on the outside and would then cut inside, now my hands are higher so that it gives me a better chance of starting on line to get the club higher on the top (of the swing)."

The bottom line is that there is not as much movement in Garcia's swing as there used to be, and consequently he has developed into a better - and more consistent - player.

"How do you rate your season?" he was asked.

"A great year," he replied, "a year that I had to overcome a couple of things and, with all of the practice and all of the changes that I've been doing for the past year and a half or so, it's nice to get through this year and play some good golf like I did."

One thing would cap it off nicely, and that's winning the Volvo Masters on home turf. The bookies have him at 4 to 1 favourite. This time, they've probably got it right.