SERGIO GARCIA'S FIRST ROUNDTHE RAZOR in Sergio Garcia's bathroom was left unused yesterday morning, as the Spaniard sported a healthy growth of stubble for one of the marquee three-balls in the first round of the 90th US PGA championship. Maybe it was simply to affirm to his playing partners - Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas - that he'd been around the block a few times more than the youthful pretenders.

In his near decade long career as an amateur, much of Garcia's life has been geared towards claiming a major. Many believe it was an inevitable career path, that it was only a matter of time.

The clock has ticked slowly, but the Spaniard - despite near misses - has yet to get his hands on what has proven to be elusive silverware. Yesterday's opening tee-shot at Oakland Hills - watched by Kim and Villegas, two of golf's newest and most likely lads who are learning to aspire to what Garcia already craves - marked his 35th start as a professional in a major and, by the time he rolled in a putt on the final green for a 69, one under, there was again an aura of confidence about him.

"Obviously, it's always important to start well and to get confidence on your side," remarked Garcia.

"You want to make sure you don't have to make up a lot of ground later in the week. This is not the kind of course that you're going to be able to shoot 64 or 65, unless it gets very soft."

In this particular battle of the three pin-up boys of golf, Garcia's 69 earned him the bragging rights. Kim, a two-time winner on the US Tour this season, had a 70, while Villegas, a good buddy of Garcia's, laboured to a 74.

"You don't win tournaments on a Thursday," observed Garcia. Still, he definitely hadn't shot himself in the foot, which - in many ways - is the main thing to avoid in the first round.

In actual fact, Garcia's round - on a course where he won four and a half points from a possible five in the 2004 Ryder Cup - was an indication of his more mature play, featuring as it did just one bogey and two birdies.

The Garcia of old might have been tempted to fire at every flag. Not nowadays.

"Sometimes you've got to realise that you just can't go at them . . . it is hard, because we like to put an aggressive swing into everything we do.

"But, sometimes, you've got to realise what is right and what is wrong, to see if the gamble is worth it. I guess you learn as you get older."

He took the par three ninth hole as an example of where not to go at the flag. "It would be almost stupid to go for that pin. The room for error on that pin is like three feet . . . I just decided to hit it good and solid onto the middle of the green and you've got to do that at some points during the round."

Ironically, the US PGA has proven to be hot and cold for Garcia. His best finish, in fact, came in his maiden appearance in 1999 when he chased Tiger Woods down the stretch at Medinah and finished alone as runner-up. Two years ago, he returned to Medinah and, on that occasion, finished third (again behind Woods).

Other years haven't proved to be quite so productive with a run of three missed cuts in four years from 2001.

Nowadays, Garcia - who won the Players championship at Sawgrass in May - is concerned with taking the next step on. That major win, though, has proved to be as elusive as an eel.

Yesterday, in a sort of psychological game, he insisted the majors were "important" but that "if you don't play well in the majors, you can still have a good year . . . it's not the centre of the universe."

You can be sure he wouldn't be thinking that way if, perchance, he happened to win one.