Sergio Garcia just cannot let his ongoing dispute with Tiger Woods go.
The two have been not best friends since Woods felt that Garcia was a little too exuberant in winning the Battle at Bighorn in 2000.
The latest dust up in their continuing saga occurred in the second round of the Players Championship. As Sergio was preparing to hit his second shot to the green on the par-5 second hole at TPC Sawgrass, Woods who was 50 yards away in the rough pulled a club from his bag to prepare to hit. The gallery that was tightly bunched around Woods in the rough gave out a cheer for his decision to pull a fairway wood right in the middle of Garcia’s backswing. Garcia pushed his shot far to the right and faced a difficult up and down for birdie on the par-5. He immediately turned and glared at Woods for a long time.
Later during a rain delay, Garcia talked to the press about the mishap and blamed Woods for disrupting his shot. He felt he was the victim once again of Woods lack of sportsmanship. Woods brushed off Garcia’s comments as just another example of whining and the inexcusable ramblings of the Spaniard.
Tuesday evening at the Wentworth Club prior to the playing of the BMW PGA Championship a large black tie affair is held to honor the players on the European Tour. While on stage, Garcia was asked by Golf Channel’s Steve Sands, who was emceeing the event, if he would be inviting Tiger Woods over for dinner while at the U.S. Open at Merion. According to Golf Channel, Garcia quickly answered, “We will have him around every night.” The crowd was justly amused at this comment and when they quieted Garcia added, “We will serve fried chicken.”
Without thinking and probably after slightly too much alcohol had been consumed, Garcia had made a racist slur against Tiger Woods and brought the whole affair to a new level of ugliness.
Professional Golfers do not need to like each other. They are after all trying to beat one another. The gentlemanly aspect of golf requires appropriate etiquette be afforded the opponent on the golf course. One would only hope that the same conduct could be afforded to one another off the golf course as well.
It appears that Garcia has opened a nasty case of worms in this instance and it will take him some time to outlive this episode.