Sergio Garcia got very mad. Now he is very sorry.
Two days removed from one explosion damaging property in MasterGarcia, 46, apologized for his behavior on social media.
“I want to apologize for my actions on Sunday at the Masters,” the 2017 Masters champion wrote Tuesday on X. “I respect and appreciate everything the Masters and Augusta National Golf Club is to Golf. I’m sorry for the way I acted. It has no place in our game. It doesn’t reflect the respect I have for The Masters, for the fans of the tournament, for the fans around the world.”
His my fault was related to a last-round incident in which Garcia, frustrated by a faulty machine on the par-5 second hole, twice hit his club into the fairway, ripping holes in the green. He then hit his driver into a nearby cooler, snapping the clubhead in the process.
Two holes later, on the par four, Masters Race committee chairman Geoff Yang slapped Garcia with a code of conduct warning, acting on a policy implemented at the tournament for the first time this year. According to the policy, a first offense results in a warning, a second carries a two-stroke penalty and a third results in disqualification.
In a brief interview with reporters after his round, Garcia declined to offer details of his exchange with Yang. “I won’t tell you. Next question,” he said. He didn’t even apologize for his behavior.
“Obviously I’m not too proud of it, but sometimes it happens,” Garcia said.
It has happened to Garcia on more than one occasion. At the 2007 WGC-CA Championship, he spat in the cup on a par 3 after three bogeys. In 2019, he was disqualified from the Saudi International for damaging too many greens in anger.
This latest fit of pique comes amid a prolonged period of frustration for Garcia, who has been open about his struggles with his movement. His latest record reflects those struggles. Since winning the green jacket nine years ago in a sudden-death playoff over Justin Rose, Garcia has finished outside the top 10 in 29 major championship appearances and missed the cut in six of eight Masters.
This week, he entered the weekend, but closed with a 75 on Sunday that left him 52nd among the 54 players who made the cut. However, his performance will not be remembered for his score. Sunday’s outburst was Garcia’s second incident in as many majors. In the final round of last year’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush, he snapped his driver in half as he slams it into the ground on the second hole.
