Garcia backed to take Open road to first golf major (AFP)

by Angus MacKinnon 8 minutes ago SOUTHPORT, England (AFP) - When it comes to major championships, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els are fully paid-up members of the "been there, done it," club; the most Sergio Garcia can say is that he is at the top of the waiting list. Yet it is the Spaniard who will tee off on Thursday as just about every pundit's favourite to extract maximum advantage from the fact that the field for the 137th Open Championship will be missing a certain Eldrick Tiger Woods. While the world number one nurses his wounds following season-ending knee surgery, Garcia will be striding the Royal Birkdale links in pursuit of the victory he needs to heal the scars left over from his last two Open experiences. In 2006 at Hoylake, the Spaniard was in the final pairing with Woods on the Sunday but was unable to live with... [read full story]