Now holding the dubious title of "Best player to never win a major championship," Sergio Garcia of Spain may be erasing that moniker if Britain's betting houses are correct. Ladbrokes has established the 28-year-old as the 11-1 favorite - with some bookies putting the odds at 8-1 - to win the 2008 British Open at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.

Maybe this is the year for Spain as the country recently won soccer's Euro Cup and Rafael Nadal brought home French Open and Wimbledon tennis titles. Aiding Garcia's cause is the absence of Tiger Woods, who's at his Florida home recovering from left-knee surgery, and the recent wrist injury of Open defending champion Padraig Harrington.

Garcia tried to put the situation in perspective yesterday, particularly insofar as Woods' absence. "With all due respect, the Open is bigger than any of us, even Tiger Woods. If I happen to never play golf again or Tiger happens to never play golf again, the Open will still be played, and that's the most important thing. Nobody is bigger than the tournament itself.

"If I manage to win this week, I'm not going to go, 'Oh, I won the British Open but Tiger Woods wasn't there.' I'll still have the Claret Jug."

Here's what else Garcia said during a wide-ranging interview session yesterday.

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