Sergio Garcia was not happy Thursday afternoon at Augusta National, but it had nothing to do with his opening-round 74 at the Masters.
Garcia got into it with a reporter over LIV Golf following his first round at the opening major championship of the year. Garcia is one of 18 LIV Golf members playing this week, which marks one of the first times LIV golfers have competed alongside PGA Tour members since the controversial, Saudi Arabia-backed league was started.
Garcia was asked how it felt for him to be returning to the Masters this season, and he gave a very blunt response.
“Totally normal. You guys need to stop it,” he replied. “You guys are making a big deal out of this, and it's you guys.”
“No, it’s not,” the reporter replied.
“Yes, it is. I've had nothing but great things from every single player I talk to,” Garcia said. “So please stop it and talk about the Masters.”
So far, the tournament has been relatively calm as far as LIV Golf and PGA Tour players mixing together. LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman was not invited to the Masters this year, which has probably helped on that front. Rory McIlroy, perhaps the most outspoken against LIV Golf, and Brooks Koepka played a friendly practice round together earlier in the week. Both seemed content to, if nothing else, ignore the feud in the golf world for the week.
“This week and this tournament is way bigger than any of that, I feel, and it's just great that all of the best players in the world are together again for the first time in what seems to be quite a while,” McIlroy said.
But to say the feud isn’t a thing or is a thing only reporters are pushing, as Garcia claimed, just isn’t true. There are several lawsuits coming from both sides, and players have been speaking out one way or another since before LIV Golf officially launched. McIlroy and Patrick Reed got into a spat at a tournament in Dubai earlier this year, too, in one of the latest examples of the tense situation.
Garcia even called out McIlroy specifically in recent months, saying he “lacked maturity” and “he’s the one that has the problem.”
Garcia is one of six LIV Golf members who has a lifetime exemption for the Masters after his win in 2017. Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Reed, Charl Schwartzel and Bubba Watson are the others.
Garcia, after going 2-under on his front nine, made four bogeys — including three straight — on the back Thursday en route to his opening-round 74 in his 24th Masters appearance.
Garcia was also asked about a ruling in London that was announced Thursday allowing the DP World Tour to suspend and fine members who compete in LIV Golf events without approval. Garcia, who is from Spain and a longtime European Ryder Cup team member, insisted repeatedly that he didn’t know anything about it and wouldn’t get into it.
“How can I talk about something I don't know? Obviously, I don't look at the news,” he said. “So I don't know what happened. I'm not going to talk about something without all the information that I need. I don't want to get into [it] … We'll see. I probably won't catch up on it.”
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Masters 2023: Sergio Garcia is sick of being asked about PGA Tour-LIV Golf relations at Augusta National - Yahoo Sports
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