updated 9:05 p.m. ET Aug. 9, 2007

TULSA, Okla. - Between his suitcases and clubs, Sergio Garcia had no room for emotional baggage.

Giving away the British Open ruined Jean Van de Velde. Last anyone remembers him, the Frenchman was standing in a creek at Carnoustie. Colin Montgomerie’s major disappointment did a number on him, too. Since coughing up the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, he’s missed the cut at every major — the longest dry spell of his career.

For anyone thinking Garcia was headed down that same road, well, check out the leaderboard at the PGA Championship.

If not for a couple of missed reads on his last two holes Thursday, Garcia would be right with the leaders at Southern Hills. Still, with an even-par 70, he was only five shots behind leader Graeme Storm.

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“On a scale of 100, there were probably 95 positive things and five negative things. So you can’t forget about a week that is so positive,” Garcia said of the British, where his name was all but engraved on the claret jug until he missed a 10-foot par putt on 18. He lost to Padraig Harrington in a playoff.

“The British, even though I didn’t win, it’s going to be good for me in the future,” Garcia said. “Just getting in that position and holding the lead for three days at the biggest tournament we have. So that definitely is going to help me throughout my career.”

That’s a far rosier outlook than he had at Carnoustie, where he whined about his bad breaks so loudly and annoyingly, Al Davis and NBA coaches were taking notes.

And more than a few wondered how long the hard luck hangover would last.

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This, after all, is the guy who was supposed to challenge Tiger Woods major for major after making a splash at the 1999 PGA Championship. So far, though, his biggest title is “best player never to win a major,” and disappointments like the one Garcia had at Carnoustie have haunted other players.

But there he was Thursday, at the top of the leaderboard for much of the morning. Those two late bogeys brought him back to the pack, but the triple-digit afternoon temperatures and fickle wind made par a more-than-respectable effort.

“Overall, not a bad round,” Garcia said. “Nice way of throwing a good round in the trash with two bad reads in the last two holes.”

Starting on the back nine, the Spaniard sprinted to the top of the leaderboard with three straight birdies on Nos. 11, 12 and 13. He had birdie chances on the next three holes, too.

“I could have been easily 4 or 5 under through seven,” Garcia said. “There were good pins out there that if you manage to hit in the fairway, you can attack.”

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