Sergio Garcia has always had extreme appeal to golf fans. It might have been his rough look, or the fact that he nearly won on such a big scene at such a young age, but the main reason Garcia has always got tons of attention is because we knew the guy had incredible talent, not seen in most professional golfers.

He showed it during that PGA Championship in 1999. It came out again during that Padraig-major stretch when Garcia nearly snagged two of the big trophies before Harrington took them away from the Spaniard. And right now, it’s happening on his home turf, as Sergio is trying to win his second European Tour event in consecutive weeks, and might just do it with a two-shot lead heading into the final round of the Andalucia Masters.

This, of course, is coming a week after Sergio ran away with the Castello Masters by 11 shots, his first win on either tour since 2008.

But this is what Garcia is capable of doing, and it’s why we love watching him play. We all know about his balky putter, or the fact that he sometimes lets his mind get in the way of his ability, but as Sergio ages, all that stuff has the ability to clear up, and if Garcia can just go out and hit the dang golf ball like we know he can, he really could become a dominant threat during a time when nobody is really dominating the game.

And if nothing else, he still gives us dramatic moments, like the one above, when Sergio rolled up his pants on the par-5 17th hole and hit his third shot over water from the water, nearly saving his par from the creek.

Garcia’s first win was great. If he cards a second one, we might need to really start taking notice of this return to greatness.

Sleep? Who needs sleep? Jeff Overton damn sure doesn’t. Dude got off a plane from America to Malaysia on Tuesday night, and by Friday morning had drilled a course-record 62 to share the lead at the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic. Overton sits tied with Fredrik Jacobson for the two-day lead at 13-under.

Overton was a last-minute addition to the field after the withdrawal of David Duval, and jumped on a plane in time to make a Thursday tee time at the Mines Resort and Beach Club, host of the co-sanctioned PGA and Asian Tour event.

“On the first hole, I told my caddie I didn’t think I was going to make it. I’m still a little jet-lagged,” he said after his round. “I woke up at three this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. So, really, it’s almost like being up forever.”

Everybody knows you play your best golf on zero sleep. It’s the foundation of many a guys’ golf weekend. Bring it home, Overton, and you can sleep as long as you like.

Rounding up some midweek links to keep you up with what’s new in the golf world. Enjoy, and feel free to hold court in the comments below.

• For years, the Tiger Woods/Steve Stricker pairing was straight money. But with one injured and the other off-track, will they be anything close to that come Presidents Cup time? [CBS Sports]

• Did Graeme McDowell have a role in Rory McIlroy‘s split with manager Chubby Chandler? OMG! He says no, but do we believe him? [Reuters]

• There are worse things than rain delays: A Japan LPGA event against South Korea in Bangkok has been canceled due to flooding in the area. [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

• The PGA Tour’s average driving distance has gone up and over 290 yards. So much for rules to keep driving distance in line, huh? [Geoff Shackelford]

• Has any LPGA player ever had a more dominant year than Yani Tseng this year? Just one. Who could it be? [Mostly Harmless]

• The PGA Tour is defending how it handled the extension of the Player of the Year voting. Well, trying to, anyway. [Waggle Room]

Got a link/tip for us? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or via Twitter at @jaybusbee. And follow us on Facebook here and Google+ here. Go!

Rounding up some midweek links to keep you up with what’s new in the golf world. Enjoy, and feel free to hold court in the comments below.

• For years, the Tiger Woods/Steve Stricker pairing was straight money. But with one injured and the other off-track, will they be anything close to that come Presidents Cup time? [CBS Sports]

• Did Graeme McDowell have a role in Rory McIlroy‘s split with manager Chubby Chandler? OMG! He says no, but do we believe him? [Reuters]

• There are worse things than rain delays: A Japan LPGA event against South Korea in Bangkok has been canceled due to flooding in the area. [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

• The PGA Tour’s average driving distance has gone up and over 290 yards. So much for rules to keep driving distance in line, huh? [Geoff Shackelford]

• Has any LPGA player ever had a more dominant year than Yani Tseng this year? Just one. Who could it be? [Mostly Harmless]

• The PGA Tour is defending how it handled the extension of the Player of the Year voting. Well, trying to, anyway. [Waggle Room]

Got a link/tip for us? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or via Twitter at @jaybusbee. And follow us on Facebook here and Google+ here. Go!

Welcome to Devil Ball’s Proving Ground, where we put the latest golf equipment through its paces. Today we work over TaylorMade’s new R11 irons.

Tester: Jay Busbee
Handicap: Driving age
Target Golf Audience: Up to 20 handicaps

Initial Thoughts
I rotate out drivers pretty frequently, and wedges a little less so, but irons? It’s been years since I picked up a new set, and while my current set of [name redacted] irons is a familiar set of lead pipes, they’re still lead pipes, you know?

So I was ready to bring some new horses into the stable, and TaylorMade’s R11s seemed to be a perfect fit. While some of us at Devil Ball are high-level golfers, even playing in U.S. Open qualifiers, I am of the “those who can’t do, write about those who can” mold, and happily so. The R11′s are lightweight, balanced and calibrated for the higher-handicap player.

Transition
One of the major elements of the R11 set is the “Precision Weighting Port,” that distinctive red hexagon you can see in the clubs above. The weight is now in the clubface, rather than being partially or fully in the hosel, and it provides for a more expected and consistent swing and sweet spot.

Playability
From the first swing, you can tell the difference the weight makes. Once you get over the initial feel of the weight not being in the hosel, and it doesn’t take long, you recognize the smoothness and balance in the clubs. In terms of distance, I was getting half a club to a full club extra length on each swing, but that’s not the most important change; the more forgiving sweet spot and the “Inverted Cone Technology” on the club’s face meant I was firing straighter shots and getting more reliable distances shot over shot.

The clubs don’t have quite the same satisfying ball-striking sound as some others I’ve played, but a) that’s nitpicking and b) since many of my strikes are followed by “Fore!” or “Anybody see where that went?” it’s not such a big deal.

Final Verdict
Technology can dominate the game, but technology can also decrease the distance between you and the game you want to play. That’s the case with the R11s, as the balance and forgiving nature lets you swing without concern for whether the club is going to do what you want it to. These clubs play well and look great, besides. They’re not cheap, but if you can make the investment, you’ll find them well worth your golf dollar.

Rating: For the golfer who knows the game but doesn’t need to be discerning down to the millimeter, these clubs are straight-up 10/10.

Price: $799 (steel), $999 (graphite), taylormadegolf.com

(Samples of the clubs were provided to Devil Ball Golf for review.)