Sergio Garcia Sure Knows How to Make Friends

You know when you're playing pick-up basketball, and there is a 6-foot-10 guy with bulging arms and an incredible vertical and doesn't seem to miss any jumpers while you're warming up? Yeah, you're going to want to pick him first, right?

Well, not according to Sergio Garcia. He thinks that the United States Ryder Cup team is better off without Tiger Woods, the 6-foot-10 guy in this analogy, and he believes that not having the best player in the world on your squad actually helps. Eureka!

"Tiger's absence made a difference. It made some of the other players step it up. They wanted to show everyone they could win without Tiger. Maybe when he's there, he's the leader and everyone falls in behind him. Without him, everyone wanted to be the leader. They played amazing golf. You could see a different energy in the team."

You know, Sergio does have a point here. In 2002, when the US lost to Europe 15.5 to 12.5, Tiger's 2.5 points probably didn't help much. Oh, and in '04, when he was mistakenly paired with Phil Mickelson, his two points weren't a factor as the Americans only mustered 9.5 total. But he's probably referring to 2006, when Tiger got three of the American's 9.5 points. Yeah, that must have been the case.

Listen, I'm all for chemistry, but if Kobe Bryant is on your team, you don't trade him because he is messing up morale. He's too damn good. There is a short list of people that are better than chemistry, and Tiger is one of them. Thinking he would make your team worse would make as much sense as filming a Michelob Ultra commercial where somehow, hitting a golf ball two feet from a gorgeous woman with a 7-iron would inexplicably make her attracted to you and not pissed that you nearly nailed her in the face with a golf ball.