Weary from jet lag and not
well prepared for his first tournament Down Under, Sergio Garcia will have one
advantage in the Australian Masters.
He has
a new caddie in Fanny Sunesson, who caddied for a decade for Nick Faldo. But
Sunesson hasn't seen the course since alterations were made last year, bringing
a flood of complaints from players.
Garcia
flew into Melbourne from the United States on the eve of Thursday's opening round.
The 20-year-old Spaniard had a practice round Wednesday. He also had time to
discuss the Huntingdale layout with defending champion Craig Spence.
The two
were stranded in California this week when bad weather held up the finish of
the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
"Don't
expect me to do really, really well because it's too tough," Garcia said after
playing the course for the first time. "If I had arrived on Tuesday, like I was
going to, it would be a little better. But, hopefully, I can feel strong enough
to finish near the top."
Garcia
will join John Daly, Greg Norman, Robert Allenby and Stuart Appleby in the field
of the $635,000 tournament.
Amateur
Aaron Baddeley, who won the Australian Open at Royal Sydney in November, withdrew
from the tournament Thursday with the flu.
Norman,
a six-time winner, goes into this event after failing to make the cut at his
signature tournament, the Greg Norman International, for the second straight
year.
Three-time
Australian Masters champion Craig Parry also pulled out after injuring his hamstring
Monday while chasing a ball during a cricket match.
