Garcia proves his point

With the Americans riven by bitter bickering, Sergio Garcia took a crucial step on the road to Brookline by shooting a first round 66 - six under par - in the 81st USPGA Championship here at Medinah yesterday.

It was a stunning performance by the young Spanish debutant, who leads by two strokes from the US trio of Jay Haas, Mike Weir and J P Hayes.

At 19, the reigning Irish Open champion is the youngest challenger in this event since Gene Sarazen made his debut at the same age in 1921. And the timing of his effort could hardly have been better, given that only one more Ryder Cup qualifying tournament remains.

"I am proud of myself, because I came here with something to prove, and I did it," said Garcia after a bogey-free round.

This was a reference to a spectacular, British Open collapse and his failure to make the cut in the Buick Open last week. Typical of a quality player, he accepted a chip-in birdie at the short second and proceeded to build on his good fortune.

Yet after heavy overnight and morning rain, it could have been become a difficult, disjointed challenge when play was suspended late for 40 minutes in the afternoon because of lightning in the area. Garcia had birdied the long 14th to be four under for his round at that stage, and when play resumed, he sank putts of 30 feet at the 16th and five feet at the last, to complete a sparkling, homeward 32.

Scoring was generally of a high order, considering the addition of swirling winds. So, a level-par start by Darren Clarke left him with much work to do. Still, the Tyroneman deserved credit for his composure, given the recent trauma of the European Open in which he squandered a six-stroke lead entering the final round.

"I still haven't regained my feel on the greens, but I'm happy with the rest of my ball-striking," said Clarke, whose post-round mood was helped considerably by a birdie, birdie finish.

He reduced the 206-yard 17th over water, to a six-iron and an 18-foot putt and went on to sink a 12-footer from the left fringe of the 18th green.

"I'm playing really nicely and I know I can do well on this course," he added. "But the key is putting. I had 33 putts today and I've simply got to improve on that if I'm to make any real headway here."

Though there were three bogeys on his card, Clarke's only wayward drive was at the ninth, where he was in trees on the left to drop a shot. His other slips were products of a pushed five-iron at the 188-yard second and three putts from 40 feet on the 12th.

The greens were already showing some wear by the time Clarke had finished and they continued to deteriorate under the pressure of play. Indeed, Tiger Woods was prompted to remark: "The greens are really shaky. The ball's moving all over the place."

All of which reflected enormous credit on Garcia's effort.

Meanwhile, as observers attempted to come to grips with the last "major" of the season, the Ryder Cup rumpus simply wouldn't go away. In the wake of a passionate outburst by Ben Crenshaw on Wednesday, it emerged that David Duval, one of the targeted malcontents, had a confrontation with the US skipper.

After an opening round of 70 in which he scrambled resourcefully, Duval spoke of his reaction to Crenshaw's criticism. "What surprised me was the arena in which his comments were made," he said, clearly unhappy that it happened at a press conference and not in a team situation.

Duval went on: "I called him to find out if he was talking about me and I learned that he was. Let's just say I told him what I thought. I have always made a point not to criticise other players and I told him that. I'm a golfer with opinions like everyone else, but I don't have all the answers."

He concluded: "I've been misrepresented and misquoted. Some people have written things that were not particularly nice. I've been killed left and right in the papers, but judging from the reaction of the fans out there, they're not paying any attention to all that nonsense."

Woods, who like Clarke birdied the last two holes to join Duval on 70, was also targeted by Crenshaw, but he took a far more conciliatory view of his skipper's comments. "I don't think Ben meant any of that maliciously," said Woods. "He was simply acting as a concerned captain."

Crenshaw said later: "I'm from a different generation and I suppose my frustration bubbled over a bit. I didn't intend to be personal. My concern is to have 12 committed players going to Boston."

Elsewhere, the bond between professional and caddie was emphasised at noon, when Steve Elkington withdrew. The Australian, who beat Colin Montgomerie for this title at Riviera in 1995, notified officials that his caddie, Joe Grillo, had suffered heart problems. And instead of being on the first tee at 12.40, Elkington went with his caddie to a local hospital.

Meanwhile, Nick Faldo showed himself to have lost none of his competitive drive in a round of few errors and admirably solid putting. And his objective is clear: he still believes he can make a 12th successive appearance in next month's European Ryder Cup team.

"I'm going for the shots - that's the best bit," said the 42-year-old. "I have the chance to prove I can still score under pressure and if I manage to deliver, it's then up to the captain."

Had he heard anything from Mark James since his arrival here?

"Not a dicky-bird," came the reply.