A tetchy Sergio Garcia refused to answer a question about his angry Masters meltdown, tersely responding to a reporter’s query by saying, “I’m not going to tell you”.
Garcia endured a complete loss of composure on the second tee during Sunday’s final round at Augusta when, having already bogeyed the opening hole, he slammed his club into the turf twice after hitting his ball into a bunker.
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He then struck a table holding a green cooler, causing the head of his driver to dangle precariously before he completely ripped it off the shaft.
The 2017 champion was subsequently visited on the fourth tee by Geoff Yang, chairman of the competition committee, and given a code-of-conduct warning. A second warning would have resulted in a two-shot penalty, while a third would have meant disqualification.
When asked during his post-round press conference about what Yang said to him, Garcia was in no mood to reveal details.
“I’m not going to tell you,” he tersely replied. “Next question please.”
Sergio Garcia’s week at The Masters didn’t go how he would’ve wanted (Getty)
Garcia did show a small amount of contrition for his actions however, stating: “Obviously not super proud of it, but sometimes it happens,”
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Garcia, who shot a final round of 75 to finish the tournament at eight over par, has a history of outbursts on the golf course – being disqualified at the 2019 Saudi International for damaging greens in frustration.
He also angrily kicked off his shoe when he slipped during a tee shot at the World Match Play in 2001, and the shoe nearly struck an official, while also angrily spit into a cup during a World Golf Championship at Doral after three-putting.
Smashing up his driver in frustration did provide the 46-year-old with one surprise benefit however. “It makes the decisions very easy,” said Garcia. “I just have to hit three-wood all the time. I didn’t have to choose another club.”
Following his outburst on the second tee, the Spaniard did provide some light-hearted relief later in the hole when he started carrying playing partner Jon Rahm’s bag while his caddie Adam Hayes was raking the bunker.
Countrymen Garcia and Jon Rahm were playing together on Sunday (Getty)
The crowd then applauded when Rahm took the bag from his countryman to start carrying it himself as Hayes hustled to catch up with them.
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“There was nothing,” Garcia explained. “Adam stopped to rake my bunker, and Benji (Thompson), my caddie, was carrying both bags, so I told him, ‘Just put it down, I’ll get it so you can go and get a yardage.’ Just as simple as that.”
Garcia’s record in the eight editions since winning The Masters is utterly dismal – having missed six cuts and finished 23rd and 52nd in the other two tournaments.
When asked what was going wrong for him at Augusta, the one-time major champion said: “Bad golf. Bad shots. If you don’t hit good shots, you’re not going to score well here. It’s very simple. Unfortunately a lot of bad shots.”
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