Golf Central

On this day in 1980, Sergio García - one of many who hold the dubious claim to be "best golfer to lack a major championship" - was born in Castellon, Spain.

When the charismatic García exploded onto the golf scene in 1999 as a precocious 19-year-old with the nickname El Niño, he was immediately tagged as a star of the future. Sergio's entrance to the big time was unforgettable: he pulled off a miracle shot wrapped round a tree and nearly chased down Tiger Woods to win the '99 PGA Championship at Medinah, finishing second.

With his charm and enthusiasm, there was never been any doubt of García's popularity on both sides of the pond, and there has been a reasonable amount of success as well. The Spaniard has won six times each on both the US and European Tours. He has proven star quality, from his expensive sports cars to his famous ex-girlfriends (tennis star Martina Hingis and Greg Norman's daughter, Morgan-Leigh).

And there is no question that Sergio has compiled one of the greatest Ryder Cup resumes in history. The key man on Europe's last four Ryder Cup teams, Sergio has put together a nearly bulletproof record of 14-3-3 in golf's showcase team event. But as we head into 2008, everyone is still waiting for that little bit more ...

For one thing, Sergio has not won any tournaments (period) since 2005, when he captured the Booz Allen Classic. And he melted down in last year's Open Championship, when he only needed an up-and-down par from a bunker on the 18th to win that elusive major - but gifted the title to an unforgiving Padraig Harrington.

And Sergio didn't exactly endear himself to golf watchers in the aftermath, blaming nearly everything but himself and claiming he simply didn't catch any breaks.

He may be right, but while the golf world gradually runs out of patience with García, we need to recall that he is still only 28. And if there's nothing that Sergio still has plenty of in abundance - talent and time. ...

Speaking of things that look really good on the tin but might not really be so good after all, consider the Apple iPhone, which was unveiled with awesome hype on this day in 2007 by Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs. Like Sergio, the iPhone looks awesome ... but it is really any better than any other phone? ...

And since it's a Wednesday, it's time to prepare you for your weekly pub quiz with our usual collection of useless facts. Tell your pompous quizmaster, for example, that:

On this day in 1768, the first modern circus was staged. Promoted by Philip Astley (not to be confused with the carrot-topped little fella Rick Astley, the '80s crooner who swallowed a megaphone), the extravaganza in London featured horses performing in a 13-meter ring ... more animals and more rings were added later ...

And on this day in 1857, the Really Big One actually hit Southern California, when a massive earthquake of 7.9 magnitude ripped through the mountains of the Tejon Pass north of Los Angeles. The saving grace was that in 1857 the area was sparsely populated; there were only two fatalities. Geologists estimate that a similar quake today on the same fault would cause a massive disaster ...

And here's a biggie: It was on this day that the first section of the London Underground railway was opened (services began the next day). Most of the initial route is on the current Hammersmith & City Line, but for extra bonus points tell your quizmaster that the original stations linked were Paddington and Farringdon Street ...

So, it's ne gelukkege verjoardach!, as they say in Antwerp, to guitar legend Jimmy Page (64) of Led Zeppelin; to former Crystal Palace and current Coventry footie manager Iain Dowie (43); to South-African/American musico Dave Matthews (41); to Kate Middleton (26), the cute and patient squeeze of Prince William of England; and to possibly over-rated gravelly throated Scots singer Paolo Nutini (21) ... but time will tell.

It also would have been a birthday for Richard "Tricky Dick" Nixon (b. 1913), the only American president to resign from office, had he not found a problem even stickier than Watergate in 1994.