It’s a defining moment for Garcia

The household words “Sergio Garcia,” familiar to the world’s golf sorts for eight years and 36 major tournaments, seem ripe for a single day of intensive redefinition.

By dusk today along the east coast of Scotland, they could well refer to the Spaniard who fulfilled his heaping promise, commanded this 136th British Open, claimed his first major title at 27 and pinpointed the wherewithal to claim more.

They also could mean a uniquely shattered golfer whose intestinal fortitude seems ever more insufficient for the fine drudgery of major Sundays.

“I don’t know, I haven’t been in this position in a major,” Garcia said Saturday, and the same goes for golf fans. They’ve never had such a look at Garcia’s innards, the kind only mean old golf affords. They’ve never seen him enter the Sunday of a major with a three-shot lead.

Before this Sergio Open went streaming into its Sergio Sunday, Garcia had graced the final pairing of majors only twice, and neither as the front-runner, since he introduced himself auspiciously at 19 during the 1999 PGA Championship.

He’d played alongside Tiger Woods while trailing by four shots on Sunday morning at the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage on Long Island. And he’d played alongside Woods while trailing by one shot and wearing a ghastly canary-yellow get-up at the 2006 British Open at Royal Liverpool.

So, even as Wisconsin’s Steve Stricker on Saturday claimed second place by painting a 64, the lowest score recorded in any of the seven British Opens at Carnoustie, the story remained Garcia.

Even as Ernie Els shaped an implausible third round that included both a triple-bogey 8 on No. 6 and five ensuing birdies to trail by six, the story remained Garcia.

Even as Woods fought for a 69 to trail by eight, and even as Woods broached how Paul Lawrie won the 1999 Open at Carnoustie from 10 shots behind on Sunday morning ...

It was Garcia, Garcia, Garcia, whose 68 in drizzly but calm conditions followed his 65 from Thursday and his 71 from Friday and left him nine under par and three-quarters of the way to wire-to-wire.

After eight years of everybody wondering when, with Sunday sags that made some wonder if, three pristine rounds with his new belly putter and with very little litter -- three bogeys in 54 holes -- brought him to a Sunday of everybody thinking surely now.

“It’s kind of in his hands now,” said Els, the 2002 champion.

“Well, it depends on Sergio, really,” said the Englishman Paul Broadhurst.

“Maybe the two of us could play better-ball tomorrow against Sergio; we might catch him that way,” said Padraig Harrington, referring to fellow Irishman Paul McGinley.

Boosting Garcia’s cinch quotient, almost none of his immediate pursuers have a major title either. Stricker, three behind, finished second in the 1998 PGA but in the interim almost vanished completely. The seven-man convention in third place, six behind, consisted of McGinley, Harrington, Broadhurst, Stewart Cink, Chris DiMarco, K.J. Choi and Els, with only Els’ home boasting (three) major trophies among the decor.

DiMarco, whose seven-birdie 66 let him bolt onto the big board, finished second to Woods both at Royal Liverpool last year and in the 2005 Masters. Cink nearly won the 2001 U.S. Open. Harrington and Choi have nibbled.

What’s more, Garcia has found a week with Woods rummaging around for his game and saying such things as, “It’s horrible,” and, “Well, I’m in the position I’ve dealt myself.” Of the seven majors in which Garcia has finished in the top five, Woods has won six.

Of seeing Woods well off the pace, Garcia said, “It definitely doesn’t hurt, but it doesn’t matter.”

Still, even in a bellwether week, he has had surly turns fielding simple questions that hint at doubts.

When a reporter began Saturday’s session with, “I don’t want to rekindle any bad memories ...,” Garcia interrupted and said, “OK, don’t. Next question please.”

When the room laughed and the reporter tried again, Garcia said, “You just said you don’t want to bring bad memories. Don’t ask it. Next question.”

Contradicting that jittery posture, his play has risen to the level of steely. Els has called it “solid.”

Garcia has extracted irons rather than drivers on some holes, especially late Saturday. His prowess with his belly putter has sapped pressure from the rest of his repertoire.

“I think the most important thing is, I’ve been playing very smartly,” he said. “If I haven’t felt comfortable hitting one shot, I haven’t tried to hit it.”

From his serenity of Thursday through Saturday, he approached the caldron of Sunday as a certain favorite amid all the Sunday uncertainties.

“I think this week his condition is very good, so I’m anticipating that he’ll finish out pretty well,” Choi said.

“It’s a big task to catch him, because I know what he’s capable of doing,” McGinley said.

“I’m not going to do anything different,” said Garcia, aware his definition soon may differ utterly.