London – What’s the golfing equivalent of manbags at 10 paces? Look no further than the weekend shenanigans involving Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia at the Players Championship.
What at its worst could be construed as only the mildest breach of etiquette by Woods was turned by the Spaniard into a civil war marked by petty spite and an appetite for grudge-bearing that reflected badly on both men.
Garcia returned to the course on Sunday to finish his storm-interrupted third round in the company of Woods and was still incensed by an incident that had happened on the second hole the previous day.
When it was over, he threw out all known convention in this sport and made his feelings plain.
“I am not going to lie, he is not my favourite golfer to play with,” whinged Garcia. “Tiger is not the nicest guy on tour.”
What prompted such insults? From 50 yards away, in the trees and with his view of his playing partner blocked by his gallery, Woods had pulled out a five-wood.
Should he have known this would cause an orgy of excitement as Garcia was addressing his shot and cause him to balloon the ball into the trees?
Perhaps. But should Garcia have accepted it as one of those things and kept his mouth shut? Absolutely.
And we all know what happens when someone fires up Woods. As he began his final round in ominous fashion, the rest of the contenders must have been thinking: why, Sergio?
The top six were separated by one stroke at the start, with a trio of leaders in Woods, Garcia and little-known Swede David Lingmerth.
In his 300th PGA Tour appearance, Woods assumed the outright lead in pursuit of his 78th victory with birdies at the second and fourth. A scruffy bogey followed at the sixth but he then birdied the seventh to be a shot ahead of Lingmerth with Garcia two behind. – Daily Mail