Garcia Could Dethrone Tiger

144 weeks ago, Tiger Woods took the top spot in golf from Vijay Singh and has held on to it ever since. This week at Doral, Sergio Garcia has a mathmatical shot of taking the top spot. Garcia trails Woods by a little over 1 point. How did that happen you ask? Well Woods took eight months off because of a bumb knee. Woods had such a huge lead that he could kick back and not compete and still be number one.

What happens if Garcia wins at Doral? He's the number one golfer with all the press fuss and hooplah that goes with it. He's on top of the world. And then in two weeks Tiger wins the Masters and snatches back the title. Poor Sergio.

We've got a guy in our group, who relatively speaking, is our Tiger Woods. His name is Tad Itow and the little bugger can do no wrong. In the last five weeks he has won the low gross game four times. He tops our money list winning double what the number two guy, me, has won.

You can't help but like Tad when you first meet him. He's my age, kinda quiet and unassuming, very friendly. However, if this guy had been around in the early 40's, he probably would have been in charge of planning the attack on Pearl Harbor.

We play closest to the pin on the par threes and there is nothing more demoralizing than hitting the green with a competitive shot of seven feet or less; then watching Tad stick it inside three. "Oh, is that my ball? So sorry." "You had a good shot. I just got lucky."

And then he gets "lucky" two or three more times in the round.

It's our custom after the round to sit at the picnic tables outside the club house and calculate who won what over beer and bangers. If you are closest on a par 3, you walk around to each of the 20 to 25 guys and collect a dollar. Normally it's a pretty civilized ritual with "good shot" "way to go" often heard. When Itow makes the rounds, he always says thank you as he takes your cash.

There are some in our group who get a bit creative in delivering their dollar when Tad is the winner. This includes sticking the dollar under their belt buckle, rolling the dollar up and sticking it in the left nostril, wiping their butt with the dollar before passing it on, and other unique alternatives to simply handing over the money. The Brits in our group are particularly inventive. I think it has something to do with the funny hats they wear.

Is Tad offended? Who knows. He just smiles, does a little bow, and puts $75 in his pocket.