Despite the storm surrounding the first visit of Sergio Garcia, Andy Capostagno tips Nick Price or Colin Montgomerie to pocket the prize money
‘I don’t know how we’re ever going to top this one, said Nick Price after winning the Million Dollar Challenge for the third time last year. Price had prevailed in exceptional circumstances, beating Tiger Woods at the fifth hole of a sudden death play-off. When he said what he said he was still pumped full of the adrenaline needed to beat Woods, but on reflection he said a mouthful.
For the truth is that, while the 1998 event was quite possibly the best of all the 17 editions at the Gary Player Country Club, it may on reflection have been an Indian summer for the tournament. Born out of adversity in the dark days of South Africa’s sporting isolation, at the end of the millennium the Million Dollar is a tournament in crisis.
The World Is Not Enough may be packing them in at the movie houses right now, but when a million dollars is not enough to draw the best golfers in the world to Sun City, it is time to face the facts. This year the World Golf Championship series made a million-dollar first prize commonplace for the first time. And, far from returning to Sun City to try and go one better than last year, Woods is putting together his own mega-rich invitation tournament at home in the United States.
So the task of assembling a world-class field for the Million Dollar has been rather more taxing this year than in the past. Only five of the top 12 players in the world are here: Colin Montgomerie, Ernie Els, Lee Westwood, Nick Price and Jim Furyk. In addition, the current Masters champion, Jose Maria Olazabal, takes part for the fourth time and the current Open champion, Paul Lawrie, makes his debut.
What of the rest? Well, it will be good to see Miguel Angel Jimenez tee it up. The 35-year-old Spaniard is currently playing well enough to be ranked in the world’s top 10 and he is just the kind of character that the tournament needs.
Jimenez’s Ryder Cup colleague Darren Clarke is not firing on all cylinders at the moment, while, fine golfers that they both are, it is difficult to believe Carlos Franco of Paraguay and American John Huston will sell one more ticket.
Which just leaves one name – but what a name. Sergio Garcia. El Nio seems to be one of the new breed of amateur golfers who do not need to pay their dues in the professional ranks. Like Woods before him, Garcia did not have to worry about qualifying to play on tour. A couple of sponsors’ invites and, in his sixth tournament as a professional, he stepped into the winners’ circle. Second to Woods in the US PGA, an invigorating presence at the Ryder Cup, a millionaire not yet out of school, Garcia has what it takes to save the Million Dollar.
The question is, can he win it? The answer is, probably not. Since the first Million Dollar in 1981 no debutant has won, the closest being Woods last year. It is one of those courses that does not reveal its secrets easily. The cloverleaf-shaped greens provide corners for the flags to be hidden in, protected from pin-seekers by subtle slopes and hollows.
The man who knows best where to put the ball on the greens is three-time winner Price, and the 42-year-old Zimbabwean will again be the bookies’ favourite. It will be Price’s ninth visit to the Million Dollar and one of the consequences of such longevity is an accumulation of record-breaking statistics. The most revealing of all is that when he first received an invitation in 1983 he began with a five-over-par round of 77. Since then he has never failed to either match or beat par in another 29 trips around the course.
It can comfortably be predicted that if Price’s putter behaves this week, he will win again, making it three trophies in three years. It goes without saying that he will drive the ball long and straight and rifle his irons at the pins. But at the best of times Price’s putter is about as reliable as a baby’s bottom, so there is, after all, a point in the rest of the field turning up.
Of the contenders, Els is coming into form at just the right time, Furyk holds the joint course record of 64 and Garcia is capable of just about anything. But the man they will all have to beat this week is likely to be Montgomerie. The Scot came of age at the Ryder Cup, handling the disgraceful crowds like a true champion.
He is ready at last to throw off the mantle of best player never to win a major, and he may well announce his intentions for the new millennium by pocketing the small change available this week to the man who shoots the lowest score.