SERGIO: I’D HAD SOME BAD NEWS, I JUST ERUPTED

SERgIO gARCIA revealed yesterday that ‘some emotional, personal’ news lay behind his extraordinary meltdown in Saudi Arabia recently. The volatile Spaniard was disqualified after vandalising five greens, including defacing one so badly he left a divot. It came a day after an astonishing temper tantrum in a bunker. garcia didn’t mention his personal distress when issuing two apologies on social media over the past week. But, speaking for the first time about the incident on the eve of the genesis Open, he was as more forthcoming and nd appeared genuinely contrite. ‘I received some very emotional, personal news earlier that week that didn’t help,’ he said. ‘It was in the back of my mind. As I became frustrated on n the course everything erupted.’ garcia (above) didn’t go into detail about the personal news but said he was aware on the course that he had lost the plot. ‘It hit me on the 10th hole,’ he said. ‘I started thinking, “What am I doing? get your head back on top of your shoulders”.’ garcia said he had spent his week off reflecting on the scandalous behaviour that caused such harm to his image. His actions outraged his fellow pros to the point where world No 2 Brooks Koepka, hardly noted for his outspokenness, told him to ‘grow up and stop acting like a baby’. garcia, 39, said: ‘I know some of my fellow pros aren’t happy about it, but we all make mistakes. The only thing I can do is apologise. I’m going to work hard in the best way p possible. I want to face my mistak mistakes head on. ‘My job is to go out th there, enjoy my game a and show everyone t that, no matter what, I can be the best behaved guy in the classroom. S Show everyone that n not only am I a good gol golfer but I’m a good perso person. I just hope I can maintain it i their respect.’ As for the ridiculous tantrum in the bunker that made him a laughing stock on social media, garcia added: ‘I can guarantee that nothing like that will happen again. I’m going to work really hard to make sure that on those occasions when I’m feeling down and frustrated it doesn’t get to that point.’ garcia plays in the first round at 8.11pm UK time today with Keegan Bradley of the USA and Korean Bae Sang-moon.