Sergio Garcia’s Outburst at the Masters

Sergio Garcia, a past winner of the Masters, found himself in hot water after a recent outburst during the tournament.

On Tuesday, he issued an apology for his inappropriate behavior at Augusta, where he slammed his driver into the ground and damaged a nearby cooler during the final round on Sunday.

“I want to express my regrets for my actions at the Masters,” he noted in a post on X. “I have great respect for both the Masters and Augusta National Golf Club. My behavior was out of line and doesn’t align with my appreciation for the tournament, its sponsors, and the golf community as a whole.”

At age 46, Garcia, who snagged the Green Jacket in 2017, ended up destroying his driver during a fit of frustration and had to finish the round without it. He placed near the bottom of the leaderboard, finishing with eight-over-par.

“I’m not really proud of what happened, but sometimes these things just occur,” Garcia reflected on Sunday.

Tournament officials approached him at the fourth tee and issued a warning as part of the PGA Tour’s code of conduct. It’s likely that other major tournaments will follow suit with similar policies, according to reports from the Associated Press.

A second infraction could lead to a two-stroke penalty, while a third would result in disqualification.

Garcia, however, chose not to disclose the specifics of what officials told him after the incident.

Interestingly, the golfer has a track record of similar outbursts. During last year’s British Open, he broke his driver on the second hole and finished that round without it as well. Before departing the PGA Tour in 2022, he had a heated exchange with officials about a lost ball at the Wells Fargo Championship, saying, “I won’t have to deal with you guys for a few more weeks,” hinting at his move to LIV Golf.