‘You guys need to stop’: Sergio Garcia rips media in spicy Masters presser
Sergio Garcia hits a shot on Thursday on the 5th hole at Augusta National.
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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Sergio Garcia says he’s OK.
And he believes the media is not.
In a spicy back and forth after he shot a two-over 74 during Thursday’s first round of the Masters, Garcia was asked by a reporter how “normal” it felt returning to Augusta National and concentrating on his game. Then things got a little heated. Notably, at no point did anyone say ‘LIV Golf,’ where Garcia has been playing his golf for the past 10 months.
For clarity, here is the complete exchange:
“How normal did it feel coming back here and playing and concentrating on your game?” a reporter asked.
“Totally normal,” Garcia said, shaking his head. “Just you guys, you guys need to stop it. You guys are making a big deal out of this, and it’s you guys.”
“No, it’s not,” the reporter said.
“Yes, it is. Yes, it is,” Garcia said, nodding his head. “I’ve had nothing but great things from every single player I talk to. So please stop it and talk about the Masters, you know.”
“I think actually, in defense, I think actually I was thinking you haven’t had as many reps as sometimes you normally would,” another reporter said. “How did you feel coming in and playing this golf course because of that?”
“No, I don’t think you meant that, but I did play — I played one, two, three, four — I played five tournaments coming in here,” Garcia said, gesturing with his fingers. “So it’s pretty good. There’s been times where I probably maybe haven’t played that much coming into here.
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“But it’s usually around that, four, five, six tournaments. But that wasn’t the problem.”
In a look at Garcia’s schedule this year ahead of the Masters, he’s played three LIV Golf tournaments (Mayakoba from Feb. 24-26; Tucson from March 17-19; and Orlando last week) and two tournaments on the Asian Tour (the Saudi International and the International Series Oman on back-to-back weeks at the start of February). In 2022, before he joined LIV, Garcia played six events (four PGA Tour events, one DP World Tour event, one Asian Tour event).
On Thursday, Garcia was then asked about the recent court decision that would allow the DP World Tour to fine and suspend players who played LIV Golf. Ahead of that, LIV golfers were playing on the formerly named European Tour.
“Are you aware the decision that came down today in the UK about …” the second reporter started.
“I’m not,” Garcia said.
“You’re not?” the reporter asked again. “OK.”
“Sorry,” Garcia said.
“Does that mean you wouldn’t talk about it if we told you what happened?” the reporter asked.
“How can I talk about something I don’t know? Obviously I don’t look at the news. 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 a dangerous spot.”
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“Are you interested in playing on any event in the European Tour going forward?” the reporter asked.
“We’ll see,” Garcia said. “We’ll see how the year goes.”
“Maybe speak to you about it tomorrow once you’ve had a chance to catch up on it,” the first reporter said.
“We’ll see,” Garcia said. “I probably won’t catch up on it.”
“Better to ignore it?” the reporter said. “Best way to deal with it?”
Garcia agreed. And the interview was over.
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