Mark O'Meara must have felt
more like a chaperone today than a former Masters and British Open champion.
In a final practice round
for the Bay Hill Invitational,
the 43-year-old O'Meara joined up with two players not even half his age -- Sergio Garcia, the 20-year-old from Spain known as "El Nino," and Australian amateur
Aaron Baddeley, who turns 19 on Friday.
The other guy in the foursome
was the aging Tiger Woods, all of 24.
"When I was 18, I was walking
around with my eyes wide," O'Meara said. "I was just trying to get out the way.
These guys expect to win."
Sergio Garcia teeing
off. Allsport.
They played the front nine
of Bay Hill, morning dew still on the grass, as they clowned around between shots
that landed frighteningly close to the pin.
Baddeley became the youngest
winner in the 95-year history of the Australian Open by beating back challenges
from Colin Montgomerie and Greg Norman in November. Garcia, a two-time winner
on the European Tour last year is making his debut at Bay Hill.
And Woods, who got a scare
from Garcia in the PGA Championship last year?
Fresh from a two-week break,
he begins in earnest his march to The Masters, always a favorite to win every
tournament he plays.
Bay Hill is not exactly
a 24-and-under tournament. The field includes seven of the top eight players
in the Official World Golf Ranking (David Duval is taking the week off), and
features a rare PGA Tour start for the tournament host, Arnold Palmer.
Palmer had not won so much
as a U.S. Amateur when he was their age.
"Amazing," Palmer said
when asked about how golf keeps getting younger by the minute. "They are very
seasoned and very poised for the game, and that does surprise me a little bit
that they have reached that point at such an early age."
Nothing Woods does surprises
anyone anymore.
After winning or coming
in second in four of his first five tournaments this year, Woods returned home
to Florida for a week of relaxation and some fine-tuning on his game for a tournament
he would love to win.
Two PGA Tour events are
played in his adopted home of Orlando, and Woods already has won the Disney Classic
twice.
"It would be nice to have
both them at the same time," he said. "It would be even more special to win Arnold's
tournament, just because he's the King. I've been fortunate enough to win the
Byron Nelson and the Memorial (put on by Jack Nicklaus). As prominent as Arnold
is, it would be a nice topper."
The defending champion
is Tim Herron, who has dropped 20 pounds by trying to lay off sushi and bread
-- not to mention cookies. Herron defeated the only other Minnesota native on
tour, Tom Lehman, in a sudden-death playoff last year.
Other past champions in
the field include Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els.
Palmer has made some minor
alterations to the course he owns, such as a new tee box on the par-5 sixth hole
that will require a drive over the water, and a little more length on the 438-yard
11th hole.
Woods liked the changes
he saw during the pro-am Tuesday and an abbreviated practice round today.
"Bay Hill sets up beautifully
for my game," he said. "I'm driving it well, and hopefully I can keep driving
it well. This course favors long hitters."
Woods first met Baddeley
a couple of weeks ago during the Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship.
Although the Australian didn't take up the game until he was 12, he made it clear
to his father at age 14 that he wanted to play the PGA Tour, and he proved he
might have a future with his victory in the Australian Open.
Baddeley made his debut
in America last week in the Honda Classic, where he tied for 57th with a 7-under
281.
Is American success only
a matter of time? Woods and Garcia won't bet against it.
"Aaron hit the ball very
well," Woods said. "I was telling Mark, there's no way I ever hit it that good
at 19. I was spraying it all over the lot, just trying to get up and down. I
think Aaron has a very bright future ahead of him."
For Garcia, it was the
first time he has played a practice round as a professional when he wasn't the
youngest player in the group.
"To play out here, you
have to just be a good player," Garcia said. "And he is a great player. I think
he's going to do good."
Baddeley should consider
those encouraging words from a veteran -- even though the "veteran" Garcia just
got his driver's license last year.
