Garcia gets early breaks for early lead By EDDIE PELLS, AP National Writer

Garcia gets early breaks for early lead By EDDIE PELLS, AP National Writer
29 minutes ago



TULSA, Okla. - The breaks certainly weren't going against Sergio Garcia to start the PGA Championship. Seeking a strong return to the majors after his heartbreak at the British Open, Garcia began the PGA with a string of three straight birdies Thursday to take the early lead at 3-under par through five holes, tied with Colin Montgomerie and Austrian Markus Brier.

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Tiger Woods opened his day with a birdie on No. 10 and was 1 under through three holes.

One shot behind the leaders was a big group including Retief Goosen, who won the 2001 U.S. Open at Southern Hills, Ernie Els and 2002 PGA champion Rich Beem.

Three weeks ago, Garcia lost to Padraig Harrington in a playoff at Carnoustie and caused quite a stir when he blamed fate, luck, the golf gods — basically everyone but himself — for losing the lead on the last day.

On Wednesday, he finally gave Harrington the credit he deserved for winning and said he was simply speaking from the heart after his disappointment.

"Yeah, I was emotional," he said. "I opened myself up to you guys, and I said what I felt. That's pretty much it."

Through five holes at steamy Southern Hills, it was apparent that he's still striking the ball well.

Wearing a white shirt and stoplight-red pants, Garcia just missed a putt on No. 10, which could be the easiest par-4 on the course, and his birdies came on Nos. 11, 12 and 13. No. 12, a 458-yard par-4, is considered by many, including Arnold Palmer, to be one of the toughest holes in major tournament golf.

Garcia is largely considered the Best Player to Never Win a Major, a title that could once be rightfully claimed by Montgomerie. Also starting on the back, Monty made three straight birdies on 12, 13 and 14 to pull into a tie with Garcia.

This tournament, of course, figured to be a long, grueling endurance test, with forecast highs around 100.

The hottest tournament ever? Maybe not.

"Singapore is probably the hottest I've been," Goosen said Wednesday.

OK, so maybe Singapore's hotter.

But a recent study published in Golf World magazine found that all six previous majors at Southern Hills were among the 25 hottest in history.

It figures this week could easily produce a long-lasting image — a la Ken Venturi staggering to the finish with heat exhaustion during the 1964 U.S. Open at Congressional, or Montgomerie wearing dark pants and shirt during his U.S. Open playoff at Oakmont, or pre-buff Phil Mickelson uncomfortably schvitzing through the sauna that became Bethpage in 2002.

"I love playing in the heat for a couple reasons," said Mickelson, the three-time major champion who is now in much better shape to handle the elements. "It loosens the muscles in your body up. You're able to swing a lot more rhythmically and the ball flies a lot straighter because you don't have the resistance."

Mickelson had an afternoon tee time.

Woods, hoping to avoid his first majorless season since 2004, says other than drinking more water and changing gloves more frequently, heat is no big deal.

He opened the day by hitting his approach shot on No. 10 to 8 feet. Arriving at the green, he read the putt, transferred some sweat from his forearms to his pants, then stepped up and made it to get to red numbers right away.

An apparent misread on No. 11 cost him a chance at another birdie and a 12 footer for birdie on No. 12 slid just outside the cup.