The NEC was supposed to be for only Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup players. But the European Tour has decided to use the top 12 from its money list in the year when a Ryder Cup is not being played.

	Colin Montgomerie was in a typically surly mood at La Costa.

That likely will knock out four players from the '99 Ryder Cup team who are playing a full PGA Tour schedule this year -- Jesper Parnevik, Sergio Garcia, Paul Lawrie and Jean Van de Velde.

And it could set up a nasty confrontation.

Garcia said Thursday he may skip the inaugural Seve Ballesteros Trophy -- matches that pit Britain and Ireland against the rest of continental Europe -- as a form of protest. He said he will play instead in the MCI Classic that week.

Garcia, though, said he won't make up his mind until he talks to Ballesteros.

"After talking to him, I'll decide," he said. "But right now I'm not in there."

One reason behind Europe's change in NEC qualifying is to reward players loyal to the home tour. But Europe desperately needs Garcia, its brightest young star, and the debate could prove to be a test of European Tour director Ken Schofield's leadership.

Then again, for Garcia to skip the debut of the Ballesteros Trophy would be a slap at the greatest Spanish player in history.

One source close to Garcia, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the hope is for Ballesteros to lobby Schofield to make players in the Ballesteros Trophy eligible for the NEC Invitational.

Soggy Monty
You would think Colin Montgomerie would be accustomed to nasty weather, having spent his life in Scotland.

But Wednesday's torrential downpour that halted his match with Dennis Paulson was the worst he had seen on a golf course.

"I've never seen a green go under so quickly," Montgomerie said.

Montgomerie and Paulson had to wait while workers used squeegees on the 16th green so they could putt. The match -- along with one between Glen Day and Thomas Bjorn -- was suspended and not completed until Thursday morning.

Both Montgomerie and Bjorn won, then met each other in a second round match. That went 23 holes, with Bjorn finally winning 1-up when Montgomerie made bogey on the fifth extra hole.

City champ
One title has already been decided at La Costa -- Shreveport, La., city champion.

Hal Sutton won that when he beat fellow Shreveport resident David Toms, 1-up, in their second-round match Thursday.

"Completely different feeling than that you'd have at the Ryder Cup," Sutton said of the match. "It's hard to have any meanness when you're playing a friend."

Short stuff
The crowds oohed and aahed as Tiger Woods smashed long drives down the stretch in his match against Retief Goosen.

On No. 18, Woods was 50 yards past Goosen, and it paid off as he got his approach in closer and Goosen three-putted.

Woods was just as proud of some rather short iron shots, like the 7-iron hit only 145 yards on No. 4 and several 8-irons that went only 135 yards.

The idea, said Woods, was to use clubs he would ordinarily hit much longer to take spin off the ball since rain had made the La Costa greens so soft.

Shorter stuff
Being short off the tee didn't hurt Scott Hoch, who beat Lee Westwood 1-up to advance to the quarterfinals.

Hoch was consistently shorter, but that also gave him the advantage of hitting first into the green on most holes. And he did that very well.

In a stretch of four holes beginning with No. 9, Hoch's approach shot landed within four inches of the cup three times. He won three of the four holes, helping turn around his match.