DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
July 29, 2002

PALM DESERT, California - The team format for the Battle at Bighorn has changed this year from alternate shot to best ball, which should put a little more life into the made-for-TV exhibition. Of course, having Lee Trevino around doesn't hurt.

Trevino, one of the most animated characters of his generation, teams with Sergio Garcia on Monday night for the fourth version of the prime-time golf exhibition, an 18-hole match against Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

It didn't take long for the Merry Mex to start running off at the mouth.

"If we have to play under the lights, Jack and I are goners, because we're blind when the sun is out," Trevino said. "We can barely see. Do whiffs count? We've got to make a rule before we start."

Asked whether he and Nicklaus, both 62, would be hitting from the same tees as Woods and Garcia, Trevino said he wasn't sure.

"I hope not," he added quickly. "What would be embarrassing is if they gave us 50 yards and those boys are still bombing it by us."

Even when the golf was meaningful, Trevino never took himself too seriously. This is the guy who pulled a rubber snake from his golf bag on the first tee of his 1971 U.S. Open ( news - web sites) playoff against Nicklaus at Merion, which Trevino won.

Indeed, Nicklaus knows what to expect.

"We'll tell him we don't want to talk today," Nicklaus said. "He'll tell us we don't have to talk Ñ just listen."

Trevino has a kindred spirit in Garcia, whose antics are familiar. He sprinted and skipped down the fairway at Medinah in the 1999 PGA Championship ( news - web sites) after gouging a 6-iron out of a tree. He pointed 200 yards (183 meters) away toward Phil Mickelson at the U.S. Open this year after matching his birdie. He raised his 3-wood to the heavens to celebrate a great shot in a raging wind at the British Open.

Then again, not everything about the 22-year-old Spaniard makes everyone laugh.

He blamed his playoff loss in Australia last year on a rules official. He complained that Woods got preferential treatment during a rain-soaked second round at Bethpage Black. And he annoyed Woods two years ago at Bighorn by treating his 1-up victory over Woods as though he had just won the Masters.

"It was fun," Garcia said of his first Battle at Bighorn. "I can't wait to play with my partner. Hopefully, we'll kick some butt."

There is no denying similarities on that other team, too.

Nicklaus has long been considered the greatest golfer of all time. Woods is closing in on him faster than anyone could have imagined when he turned pro six years ago.

Woods already is halfway to Nicklaus' record of six green jackets. Two years ago, Woods replaced Nicklaus as the youngest player to win the career Grand Slam when he picked up the fourth trophy at 24 in the British Open. He already has won eight majors, one ahead of the pace Nicklaus set.

They have played together only once in competition, the first two rounds of the PGA Championship at Valhalla two years ago.

"I think he's a better player than I was," Nicklaus conceded after the second day. Woods went on to win the PGA in a playoff for his third straight major. He then won the Masters to become the only player to sweep the professional majors.

Then again, Nicklaus saw it coming.

He and Arnold Palmer invited a 20-year-old Woods to play a practice round with them on the eve of the 1996 Masters.

"You can probably take Arnold's (four) Masters and my (six) Masters, add them together, and this kid should win more than that," Nicklaus said that afternoon, drawing a mixture of gasps and giggles.

"This kid is absolutely the most fundamentally sound golf that I've seen at almost any age," Nicklaus said. "I don't know whether he's ready to win yet or not, but he will probably be the favorite over the next 20 years. If he isn't, there's something wrong."

It will be a rare appearance from Nicklaus, who has been battling lower back injuries the past 18 months. Nicklaus had to skip the Masters and has played in only three official tournaments this year.

"I think it's going to be cool, just to be his partner," Woods said. "How many sports can you have that big of a generational gap and still compete together?"

One of the few times Nicklaus has played this year, he did OK Ñ almost better than his Bighorn partner. Nicklaus opened with rounds of 71-74-71 at the Memorial and was tied with Woods (74-70-72) after three rounds.

On the practice green before the final round, Nicklaus said to him, "How can you let an old cripple beat you two out of the first three rounds?"

"He said, 'Yeah, but I'm going to put up a good number today,'" Nicklaus recalled. "And he went out and shot a 66 and only beat me by 13 shots."