Pressure mounts for Garcia to be banned after yet another temper tantrum
Golf ’s authorities are coming under increasing pressure finally to take meaningful disciplinary action against Sergio Garcia after his temper again boiled over at the World Golf Championship in Memphis.
A video emerged yesterday of the Spaniard gouging the tee-box after a poor drive on the 16th hole at TPC Southwind in Sunday’s final round.
Garcia, 39, is seen taking his hand off the club in disgust after completing his swing and then grabbing it with both hands again and violently slamming it into the turf, creating a huge divot.
Garcia has gained a reputation for losing his temper on course, and there is a growing feeling in the locker room that a ban is overdue.
At the Open at Royal Portrush 10 days ago, Garcia, after another wayward tee-shot, was seen petulantly hurling his driver across a tee-box in the direction of his caddie.
Garcia did not even look where he was throwing it and it was delivered with such force that if his bagman, his brother Victor, had not reacted sharply he could have been hurt.
However, this was nothing compared to his display at the Saudi Arabia International in February when he damaged several greens during the third round. After confessing to these unprecedented misdemeanours, he was disqualified for “serious misconduct”.
Remarkably, there was no suspension, but merely a heartfelt apology in which Garcia vowed that “nothing like that will ever happen again”. Keith Pelley, the European Tour chief executive, expressed confidence in his sincerity.
Six months on and nothing seems to have changed, for a character who has been attracting controversy since he burst on to the scene as a teenager 20 years ago. He has been reprimanded for throwing a golf shoe at an official, spitting into a hole and for making a racist remark about Tiger Woods on stage at a Tour function. And now this, during his tie for 40th behind the winner, world No 1 Brooks Koepka.
Yet the leading points-scorer in Ryder Cup history retains such a high profile that he has appeared almost untouchable. “We are starting to wonder what Sergio has to do to get a couple of involuntary weeks off,” a leading player told The Daily Telegraph yesterday.
The European Tour and the PGA Tour refused to comment but it is known the disciplinarians are, at last, losing their patience with the recently married father, who after finally winning a major at the Masters two years ago claimed he had matured.