That a tiny fraction of 42,000 spectators busted Sergio Garcia’s chops Saturday – the other 41,000-plus cheered him – established New York, in NBC golf host Dan Hicks’ estimation, as anti-Garcia. But that didn’t explain why no one else in the televised U.S. Open field was similarly treated.

Johnny Miller, referencing Garcia’s worsening habit of addressing the ball, then endlessly re-gripping his club, made far more sense: “He’s over the ball so long that something is going to happen; someone [in the gallery] is going to say something.”

Yeah, they’re eventually going to say what people watching at home have been hollering to Garcia for months: “Come on, already!”

And if Garcia hadn’t been a somewhat consistent target of a few, the “belligerent New York gallery” theme would not have been a constant theme of this year’s Open telecasts.

Yesterday, Tiger Woods was paired with Garcia. NBC’s crew agreed with Miller that Woods – if he was watching – was likely “going nuts” watching Garcia’s interminable re-gripping process.

Garcia might have been driving Woods crazy, too? But Woods lives in Florida, not New York.