CASTLE ROCK, Colo. -- After stealing the spotlight at the
PGA Championship over the weekend, coming in second behind Tiger
Woods following a dramatic fight to the finish, Sergio Garcia is
poised to steal the spotlight at the Sprint International.
That doesn't seem to bother Hank Kuehne, who is making his
professional debut at the International this week.
"He's 19 years old, and he's a great, great player," Kuehne
said of Garcia. "He deserves everything he gets. He deserves to be
the center of attention. He earned it."
Garcia was thrust into the spotlight Sunday at the PGA
Championship when he pushed Woods all the way to the 72nd hole
before settling for second place in one of the most dramatic
finishes in the history of the majors.
Practice rounds for the International started Monday at the
Castle Pines Golf Club, and the tournament, which will again pit
Garcia and Woods against one another, runs from Friday through
Monday.
Kuehne, last year's winner of the U.S Amateur, expects Garcia to
pick right up where he left off Sunday. And International officials
agree.
Media director Buddy Martin said that means it shouldn't be hard
to attract a crowd.
"The PGA Tour will decide who plays with who. All you can hope
is that somehow, some way on Sunday, you'll end up with Tiger and
Sergio and somebody else in a threesome, just shooting it out as
they come up 17," Martin said.
It might be a little much to expect the 24-year-old Kuehne, who
quickly became known as one of several young, long-hitting lions,
to be that someone.
But he is playing at Castle Pines this week with a sponsor
exemption, probably because International officials want to see how
far he can hit the ball at altitude off the first tee. He hit
it roughly 394 yards on his first drive there Monday.
If he does end up facing off with Garcia -- who is a close
friend -- and Woods, he won't be among strangers.
Kuehne and Garcia became friends when they were paired against
each other as the U.S. Amateur championship and the British Amateur
championship at the Georgia Cup the week before the Masters last
year.
"I got dusted," Kuehne said. "He beat me like 4 and 3, or 5
and 4. I just made a bunch of pars. He made a bunch of birdies. I
got whupped."
