Golf's 10 Greatest Rivalries

Baseball has the Yankees-Red Sox, basketball has the Celtics-Lakers and golf, well ... how can you choose just one? Here are the game's 10 juiciest rivalries.

By Joe Passov

10. United States of America vs. Sergio Garcia

It began in earnest at the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage, where Garcia's endless waggling and complaints about playing in the rain drew taunts of "Waggle Boy!" and "Whiner!" from the vociferous galleries. Garcia responded with a flip of his middle finger.

Five years later he upset fans by spitting in the cup at Doral, and his woe-is-me press conferences at the 2007 and '08 British Opens didn't help matters, either.

But Garcia has most irked American fans at the Ryder Cup, where he is a one-man Team USA wrecking crew (2008 not withstanding).

In David Feherty's Totally Subjective History of the Ryder Cup, Feherty cites the 2002 Ryder Cup at The Belfry as the tipping point: "When [Garcia's partner Lee] Westwood drove the 10th green, Sergio jumped on his partner's back in celebration, stirring up the crowd and totally pissing off the Americans [Woods and Love]."

Four years later, after the '06 Cup, Garcia said it all: "There's nothing sweeter than beating the Americans."

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