Two players in the same three-ball, but separated by 35 years, finished side-by-side on the leaderboard at 139 - five under par - when halfway was reached in the 81st USPGA Championship at Medinah yesterday. And though there was obvious respect, Sergio Garcia didn't feel he had anything to learn from Hale Irwin, who won a third US Open here in 1990.
As it happened, they were in fifth place behind surprise leader Jay Haas on nine-under-par 135, where he was set to be joined by Canadian left-hander Mike Weir. But they and others spent much of the late afternoon noting the progress of Tiger Woods, who stormed into contention with an outward 32 to be six under.
On a strong day for the European challengers, improved hot and overcast conditions were reflected in a course-record 65 from Skip Kendall. And with receptive greens standing up well to the traffic, the projected cut of two over par meant that late starter Darren Clarke, on 72 overnight, could afford few errors. In the event, he gave himself some leeway with a birdie at the sixth and was one under for the championship after 10 holes.
When the precocious Spaniard was asked which was more impressive, to be challenging for a major championship at 19 or 54, he replied diplomatically: "Both." Then he added: "I didn't know Hale was that good." Could he learn from him? "I think I'm doing fine."
Meanwhile, the latest contribution to the internecine squabble which has America's prospective Ryder Cup players turning on each other with heightening vitriol has come from Brad Faxon. "This whole controversy is devastating," said the member of the losing teams in 1995 and 1997.
"Tiger (Woods) and David (Duval) are being incredibly selfish and if they were standing next to me I'd tell them as much. They are in a tiny minority but, because of their standing in the game, they have a big voice.
"The talk about donating cash to charity is a mask, a smokescreen that sounds good in public. I know for a fact that these players would prefer to have the money in their pockets."
The affair is most remarkable for the obvious conflict it has created between America's two most cherished tenets - the accumulation of wealth and demonstrable patriotism. And as one US observer remarked, it has all happened "at the PGA (Petulant Golfers Association) Championship."
There is also the matter of newspapers fighting back after being accused of misrepresentation, not only by Duval, but by Jim Awtrey of the PGA of America and Tim Finchem of the USPGA Tour. As the Chicago Sun-Times advocated with regard to Woods and Duval: "There's only one message the American public should send at this point: Who needs them?"
Woods is coming in for considerable flak, presumably because of the huge sums of money he is making from the game. Which in itself is richly ironic. Talking about the Ryder Cup, he said: "You play for your team-mates, your captain, your wives and girlfriends. Flag."
The Chicago Tribune jumped on this: "The flag is fifth? At least Woods did not squeeze in his limo driver and Phil Knight, the Nike overlord, in front of his flag. So, you see, the younger generation does have a sense of duty."
Lee Westwood, among those Europeans observing these developments with amusement, became a formidable standardbearer after a 68 for 138. Victories in his last two events, the Dutch Open and the European Open, gave him 16 tournament wins in all, and he has now made his best start to a major championship.
Typically, the 26-year-old Englishman overcame a shaky start, three-putting the short second after getting up and down from a bunker at the first. And he went on to cover the next 16 holes in five under par. Particularly impressive were an eight-iron to a foot at the 11th; a six-footer for another birdie at the 15th and a 15-footer for a three at the last.
During the last month, Westwood has acquired a 55-acre stud farm outside Worksop. And among the animals are two black labradors, named Ben and Hogan. "It's terrific having something I can really get involved with when I'm away from the golf course," he said.
Colin Montgomerie got to three under for the championship after successive birdies at the 12th, 13th and 14th. But uncharacteristically erratic driving caused him to hook the ball into trees at the difficult, dog-leg 16th, where he ran up a bogey.
"I was in there with the bears - anything could have happened," said the Scot with a thin smile afterwards.
Miguel-Angel Jimenez did better, with a second successive 70 for 140. But the Spanish Ryder Cup aspirant was disappointed to have twice slipped back from five under, with bogeys at the 16th and 18th.
Compatriot Garcia was more angry than disappointed. "I feel kind of a little mad because I didn't deserve a 73," he said. As it happened, he completed 31 holes of the tournament without a bogey, before an ill-judged sandwedge into a bunker at the long 15th and three putts at the next, pushed him down the leaderboard.
"Hopefully, that will be my worst round of the tournament," he said. "I didn't seem to be able to get the pace of the greens and that hurt me. But my long game is almost perfect. I'm still in there."
For his part, Irwin was understandably pleased to be so competitive. "It was awesome to watch the controlled power of Sergio and Phil (Mickelson)," he admitted. "But I kept the ball in play and made the odd putt now and again." Irwin added: "You can't look in the mirror and see grey hairs or a freckle-faced kid. We're all competing out here on level terms."
