SPORTS WEEKEND : Cards on the Table With Aces Showing : Golf: It’s not head to head, but early Ryder Cup match pits Woods against Garcia in alternate-shot format.

They are the new star power brokers in golf, and guess what? You have to wait all the way until this morning to see Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia tee it up against each other in the Ryder Cup.

This is what everybody has been salivating over since, oh, about the last month, when Woods and Garcia got together at the PGA Championship in a wonderful matchup of 23-year-old established superstar (Woods) and 19-year-old superstar on training wheels (Garcia).

Woods and Tom Lehman will play Garcia, of Spain, and Jesper Parnevik of Sweden in the second of four alternate-shot matches that begin the Ryder Cup, and it was a coincidence that both captains happened to stick their young superstars in the same match.

“Lo and behold,” said Ben Crenshaw, the U.S. captain. “Here it came, right out of the box.”

Actually, right out of the box in the first match is David Duval and Phil Mickelson against Colin Montgomerie and Paul Lawrie of Scotland. There were a couple of surprises when Crenshaw and European team captain Mark James announced their morning pairings--not necessarily for who is playing, but for who isn’t.

Crenshaw chose to sit Justin Leonard and Mark O’Meara, along with Jim Furyk and Steve Pate. If those were semi-tough decisions, James had only one. He benched Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal for the morning.

Even Crenshaw was surprised by that one.

“Yes, I am,” he said. “As far as irons go and as far as around the greens, there’s nobody better.”

James said Olazabal wanted some more time to work on his game, which is understandable because Olazabal hasn’t finished better than 40th in a European PGA Tour event since June.

Crenshaw told Leonard to be ready for the afternoon better-ball format.

The other two morning alternate-shot matches feature Davis Love III and Payne Stewart against Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain and Padraig Harrington of Ireland, and Jeff Maggert and Hal Sutton against Lee Westwood of England and Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland.

It’s clear that Crenshaw hopes to get off to a quick start in the first-day alternate-shot format, which the U.S. has not won since 1991. It’s also clear that Crenshaw followed through on his vow to play the hottest players, regardless of the consequences.

That he would sit Leonard and O’Meara, at least in the morning, and play less heralded but more currently accomplished players such as Maggert and Sutton, is an indication that Crenshaw is going to go with the hot hands regardless of name value.

At the same time, there is no lack of marquee value in the Garcia-Woods confrontation.

“I think that adds so much excitement, obviously,” Crenshaw said. “It’s something that obviously people want to see. They are two of the most exciting people in the world to watch play golf. And it’s wonderful for that.”

It will be Garcia’s first Ryder Cup match, and he has prepared himself for it by partnering with Parnevik each day in practice. Garcia knows the spotlight will be on him and Woods.

“Probably more people will be watching our game because it is a good match, but it’s important to get a good start,” he said. “We have to be concentrated and focused. Even if we don’t start well, we have to believe in ourselves and believe we can beat them.”

Woods said he is happy to be paired with Lehman, but he also knows he and Garcia are going to attract a lot of attention.

“It’s not one-on-one,” Woods said. “It’s alternate shot, and you only hit half the shots. It’s not what the media is speculating. I know they want to see us play head to head, but it’s not necessarily head to head. We have to rely directly on our partners now.”

In alternate shot, the players alternate tee shots. One player hits the drive on the odd-numbered holes and the second player hits his drive on the even-numbered holes. Crenshaw said there are two potential drivable holes on the front--the 335-yard fifth and the 310-yard sixth, depending on the wind conditions. The conventional wisdom says to pair a big hitter with a straight hitter.

Lehman, who thought he would be paired with either Mickelson or Love, said he’s pleased to wind up with Woods as his partner.

“I feel pretty good about our chances,” Lehman said. “Obviously, it’s a nice [match] for the fans. Even though it’s a team format, Sergio and Tiger going at it is a golf fan’s dream.”

Ryder Cup

* Who: U.S. vs. Europe.

* When: Today-Sunday.

* Where: The Country Club, Brookline, Mass.

* Defending champion: Europe.

* Series: U.S. leads, 23-7-2.

* TELEVISION (all times PDT): Today, USA, 4:30 a.m. (satellite), 7:30 a.m. (cable); Saturday, Channel 4, 5 a.m.; Sunday, Channel 4, 7:30 a.m.

ALTERNATE-SHOT PAIRINGS

U.S. players listed first

* David Duval-Phil Mickelson vs. Colin Montgomerie-Paul Lawrie

* Tiger Woods-Tom Lehman vs. Sergio Garcia-Jesper Parnevik

* Davis Love III-Payne Stewart vs. Miguel Angel Jimenez-Padraig Harrington

* Hal Sutton-Jeff Maggert vs. Lee Westwood-Darren Clarke

Ryder Cup Format

Eight matches featuring two-man teams from each side will be held today and again Saturday, four matches in the morning and four in the afternoon each day. There will be 12 singles matches Sunday. All competition is match play.

In the morning team matches, called foursomes, each two-man team plays one ball, with players alternating shots. One player hits the tee shot on odd-numbered holes, the other on even-numbered holes.

In the afternoon matches, called four-ball, each player plays his own ball, with the better score counting for each team.

There is a total of 28 matches, with one point awarded for a win, half a point for a tie. The U.S. needs 14 1/2 points to win back the Cup; the European team needs only a 14-14 tie to retain it.