Pairing of Kim and Garcia will be great theater

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Young guns Sergio Garcia and Anthony Kim likely will square off many times over the next several years. (Redington/Getty Images)

ATLANTA -- It took Rocky Balboa more than two years before he appeared on the big screen again for his grudge match with Apollo Creed. It took the Celtics 21 years to avenge their loss in the 1987 NBA Finals to the Lakers. Heck, the Trojans are still waiting to face the Greeks again after that whole Trojan horse fiasco 3,000 years ago.

Sergio Garcia, meanwhile, needed just six days before getting another shot at Anthony Kim.

But before you go thinking that Saturday's final pairing of Kim and Garcia in the third round of THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola is going to be a bitter, angst-driven rematch between two young heavyweights, well, please stop your imagination from running amok.

When Kim and Garcia dueled in Sunday's opening singles match of the Ryder Cup, they had more than just personal pride on the line. Each one carried the weight of his team on his shoulders, knowing that a good start could set the tone for the rest of the day.

Saturday at East Lake, they will go off last instead of first. They will be playing for themselves, playing on moving day, playing to put themselves in a position to make a run at THE TOUR Championship title and the $1.26 million first prize on Sunday, as well as a potential $3 million bonus for second place in the FedExCup.

They will play with intensity, just like they did at Valhalla. But it will be a different kind of intensity.

"We're going to have fun," Kim said. "Sergio and I are good friends. Obviously at the Ryder Cup, it was a good match, and hopefully we can have two more solid days of golf."

It's doubtful, of course, that Garcia would categorize Sunday's match as "good," considering he suffered his worst Ryder Cup loss ever, 5 and 4 to Kim.

But give credit -- lots of credit -- to the Spaniard for not letting the disappointment that day creep into his play this week. His 5-under 65 was the lowest round Friday, and he's reacquired the quality of play that he has exhibited in these PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup but appeared to be missing at the Ryder Cup.

"I didn't play that poorly last week," said Garcia, who failed to win any of the four matches he was involved in. "You know, I think we just ran into a team that was playing extremely well, and things weren't really happening.

"They were making a lot of putts when they had to make them, and unfortunately we weren't. When you don't get anything going, playing in a Ryder Cup and playing match play, it's tougher, because you know that you need to win a hole here or there."

There will be no need to win holes on Saturday. The emphasis will be simply on shotmaking, on holing putts, on making birdies and avoiding bogeys and seeing who can produce the lowest red number.

Without the pressure of a whole nation (for Kim) or a whole continent (Garcia) weighing either player down, the two might come out Saturday ready to throw all caution to the wind -- although East Lake hasn't exactly been a pushover in the first two days.

The first-round scoring average of 72.233 was the highest ever recorded at East Lake in a single round of THE TOUR Championship. The course did play almost a half-stroke easier on Friday, though, so perhaps the 30-man field is getting accustomed to the new firm greens.

Certainly, Kim and Garcia have looked the most comfortable in the first two days, Kim producing eight birdies during his opening round while Garcia nearly going bogey-free Friday until a stumble at the 18th.

While Garcia won't acknowledge that revenge is on his mind -- "That's the past," he said of last week's match. "This is a different event." -- you've got to think he'll look at Saturday's pairing as a chance to send a message, especially to Kim.

After all, the two will no doubt find themselves paired numerous times in the next several years; that's what happens when you're always near the leaderboard. If Garcia can overtake Kim on Saturday, and then go on to win a tournament that Kim has led for the first 36 holes, then it would be a subtle reminder that Kim doesn't have Garcia's number.

"He's playing very well, so it's going to be tough," Garcia said. "But I've got to go out there tomorrow and hopefully keep playing well like I've been doing the last, probably, 30 holes or so. and see if I can be good enough to beat him this week."

Then Garcia added: "Well, him and everybody else."

But until somebody else steps up -- Phil Mickelson are Camilo Villegas are certainly in striking position -- Saturday will be billed as the Anthony-and-Sergio show.

"I'm sure he's going to go out there and try and make some birdies," Kim said, "and I'm going to do the exact same."

So even if you don't consider it a knockdown, drag-out, bare-knuckles revenge match, you should know this:

It will be great theater.