The INTERNATIONAL

Garcia Bids For Sixth INTERNATIONAL
Final Round Next Week At Castle Pines
      
       CASTLE ROCK, Colo. - Sunday at The INTERNATIONAL is one of the richest days in golf, with 36 competitors (and ties) playing for a healthy chunk of a $5 million purse.
       The idea is to navigate through the two cuts and make it to the final round where the cash resides - over $4 million of it. Some people have a special knack for doing just that at The INTERNATIONAL.
       Nobody has a better percentage at it than Sergio Garcia. The 25-year-old shotmaker from Borriol, Spain has survived the double-cut format and made it to the finals in every one of his five previous events.
       Garcia, who returns after missing 2004, will be among the world's leading players competing next week at the 20th INTERNATIONAL, hoping to add to his already impressive totals at Castle Pines Golf Club: 107 career points and $292,767.
      "Sergio has a huge Colorado following," said Executive Director Larry O. Thiel, "and he has been playing some of his best golf this year. I believe he is getting very close to winning again and as a prolific birdie-maker, he would have to be one of the favorites."
       Had Garcia played just a little better on Sunday in Colorado, his money totals would be even better, because only once did his fourth-round score reflect a positive total (plus-2 in 1999).
      Among those also announced Thursday were Greg Norman, making only his second PGA Tour appearance this year and his 16th at Castle Pines, and veteran Mark O'Meara, competing in his 13th.
      Norman, in fact, has an impressive eight finals to his credit and 252 Modified Stableford points which earned him $770,922. O'Meara is going for his eighth finals, with 147 points and $250,553 to his credit.
     One of the INTERNATIONAL's all-time point leaders, Steve Pate, was granted a sponsor exemption and will be playing his 18th tournament. Pate, 49, has played a limited schedule in 2005, but is a six-time winner on the PGA Tour. He has racked up 269 points here with career earnings of $368,148. His 369 points is fourth on the list, the only one of the top six who has not been a winner.
     Garcia, winner of the Booz Allen Classic this year, has collected $2,491,658, seventh on the 2005 PGA Tour money list. O'Meara has dropped to 188th with just $147,885. And with only one appearance, Norman picked up just $17,522, but has won $102,971 on the Champions Tour after turning 50 on February 10.
      While Garcia's five-for-five finals appearances is the best of anybody with at least five tournaments under his belt, the record number among current active players is held by Ernie Els, who has played on 10 Sundays out of 13 tries, and Pate, with 10 of 17.
       Norman is tied for second most competitive Sunday rounds with Vijay Singh, Brad Faxon, Andrew Magee and Kirk Triplett.

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