Garcia hopes to get grip on first major

CHASKA, Minn. -- When the world caught its first glimpse of Sergio Garcia, he was a 19-year-old nicknamed "El Nino" who pranced down fairways and took on Tiger Woods in the PGA Championship when it seemed no one else would.

Three years and millions of waggles later, Garcia has shed both the nickname and some of his youthful exuberance.

One thing hasn't changed -- as the PGA Championship gets underway he still doesn't have that major championship he came so close to stealing from Woods at Medinah in 1999.

"It's unfortunate because you want to win as soon and as many as you can, but that's the way it goes sometimes," Garcia said. "You've just got to keep playing along and keep working hard and trying harder next time. That's what I'm doing."

That's precisely what Garcia has done so far this year, finishing in the top 10 in all three majors and going head-to-head with Woods in a losing effort in the final round of the U.S. Open.

Indeed, he seems poised to break through and become the rival Woods still doesn't have.