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Greg Robertson 22y

The Marshal: January in review

JANUARY MOMENT
Sergio Garcia
Sergio Garcia won the opener in a playoff at the Mercedes Championships.
PLAYERS OF THE MONTH

1. Chris DiMarco: Third time was the charm for DiMarco, who blew chances at the Mercedes and Bob Hope on Sunday, and nearly did it again at Phoenix. But this time he rallied on the final holes for his third career win. He leads the money list and played the month in 53-under for 15 rounds.

2. Jerry Kelly: Broke through with his first career title at the Sony, making a birdie on the 72nd hole to beat John Cook by a stroke. Instead of a letdown, followed up by contending at the Bob Hope where he was fifth.

3. Kenny Perry: He had three chances to win, playing in the final group on Sunday at the Mercedes, Bob Hope and Phoenix. He finished a shot back twice, posting finishes of second, third, sixth and 23rd in his four starts. He was 65-under for the month and played all 17 rounds at par or better.

4. Sergio Garcia: Won the Mercedes Championships by going lower every round, including a 64 on Sunday and a playoff birdie.

5. Phil Mickelson: Returned after a five-month break to win his first start at the Bob Hope with a brilliant birdie in sudden death to beat David Berganio.

6. David Toms: Had two chances to win, losing a playoff to Sergio Garcia at the Mercedes Championships, then finishing fourth the following week at the Sony.

Complete list

CHIP SHOTS

  • The USA Network began its run of PGA Tour telecasts in Phoenix, the first of a dozen tournaments where it will do Thursday-Friday rounds. But unless you're in the Eastern or Central time zones, these broadcasts are tape-delayed. It's shocking the PGA Tour allows this to happen.

  • January went by without an LPGA event, and February will be the same. After Annika Sorenstam's spectacular 2001, momentum for women's golf will be gone by the time the season begins on Feb. 28. It could be worse, however. The Buy.com Tour doesn't even have its 2002 schedule in place yet.

  • Tom Kite went wire-to-wire in the only Senior Tour event, shooting the low rounds on Friday and Sunday at the MasterCard Championships. That's the Kite people expected to see the past two years.

  • February has some special events -- Pebble Beach, Riviera and the World Match Play Championship. But the most interesting could be the Buick Invitational. Torrey Pines has gotten a major face lift in an effort to land a U.S. Open, and it reportedly will play at more than 7,600 yards. The match-play event might also feature something interesting since 2001 champion Steve Stricker might not make it into the field.

  • On the defense

    Two of golf's biggest names -- with egos to match -- won events in January, then got defensive in the spotlight.

    Sergio Garcia began the year saying he wanted to be the No. 1 player in both Europe and the United States this year. Phil Mickelson started by skipping the tournament of champions, then making up for it quickly.

    There's no denying Garcia's love for the game. He is easily the most enthusiastic player on the course when things are going well. Witness his winning putt at the Mercedes Championships, and that's all you need to know about his passion for the game.

    But Garcia's win didn't come without some snickering from fans, media and fellow pros -- snickering about Garcia's unbearable approach to addressing the ball. Grip, regrip, regrip, regrip, regrip ... You get the point. Crowds are counting out loud. TV networks are counting on screen. And golf writers are asking Garcia why. Sometimes the count reaches 30 or higher.

    But instead of laughing it off, Garcia is offended. It's how he feels comfortable, and that's fine. But unless he figures out a way to laugh it off, the pressure is going to grow greater and greater. And this extremely popular player is going to find fans drifting away.

    Mickelson, on the other hand, has become a one-man head case when it comes to major championships. He's 0-for-life in the biggest events, even though his win at the Bob Hope gave him 20 other PGA Tour titles and made him exempt for life.

    He wears the label of best player without a major. And instead of going about his business to finally win one -- like Vijay Singh, David Duval and David Toms have done recently -- Mickelson makes the burden heavier.

    Prior to the PGA Championship, he said he not only planned on winning, but winning by a particular margin. Even his fellow pros were laughing at that one. Then when he came up short, he complained that he's not trying to win just one major, but several.

    Mickelson hadn't faced the press for five months when he arrived at the Bob Hope, so the subject resurfaced. And Mickelson made it worse, saying he will only speak in cliches from now on.

    "I've tried to be helpful and accessible, but so much stuff turns up negative anyway," he told GolfWorld. "I'm bitter. Really bitter."

    Maybe he should be bitter about his results instead.

    Where's Tiger?
    Tiger Woods rules golf, but he was a non-factor in January. He tied for 10th at the Mercedes, languishing in the middle of the pack until a strong final round.

    Then he took $2 million to play in the New Zealand Open, where he was never in contention against a fairly weak field. Was he worth the price? Apparently not. Ticket sales were less than expected, and the tournament reportedly finished in red ink.

    A true test of Woods' game will come in February, where he plans on playing four consecutive weeks in California.

    HOT SHOTS

    Best round: Sergio Garcia's final-round 64 to win the Mercedes Championships was the best of the bunch. There were lower scores during January, but none was more important than Garcia's. He had an eagle and eight birdies -- including one on the 72nd hole to force a playoff. Garcia also improved his score every round of the tournament, going 73-69-68-64 on the par-73 Kapalua course.

    Best shot: Two players could claim this honor, both to win tournaments. Phil Mickelson's L-wedge to within inches to win the Bob Hope playoff was spectacular, but Chris DiMarco's tee shot on No. 16 at the Phoenix Open was the most impressive. Having just blown a four-shot lead over three holes and fighting his swing and Sunday demons on the back nine, DiMarco stepped up on the intimidating par-3 and knocked it 2 feet from the pin.

    Best event: The Mercedes Championships was the most compelling, with six players having the lead at some stage on Sunday. It went down to Garcia and David Toms -- two of the best players in the world -- on a playoff hole that offered anything from eagle to bogey as possibilities.

    Best trend: After 2001 began with scoring records at three of the first four events, scores are back under control this year. The winning scores were six strokes lower at both the Sony and Bob Hope, and 11 strokes lower at Phoenix. That's a really good sign for true fans of the game who tire of putting contests on easy courses.


    ON THE LIP






    SERGIO GARCIA
    Defending his hitting style:
    "I'm not going to hit a shot until I'm ready. If it takes me 100 regrips, I'm going to take 100 regrips. I don't care. I've hit it without being ready, and I've done it wrongly. It's the way I play."



    GREG TURNER
    On Tiger Woods playing the New Zealand Open:

    "I'd sort of hoped that in New Zealand we might have a little bit of perspective than other places, that Tiger might get treated like a normal human being. But it's actually worse."



    TY TRYON
    On the eve of his debut as a 17-year-old tour member:

    "I've been dreaming about the PGA Tour since grade school. Which wasn't too long ago."

    Greg Robertson is ESPN.com's golf editor. He can be reached at greg.robertson@dig.com, or by talking back to The Marshal.

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