Sergio Garcia issued warning after Masters final round outburst

AUGUSTA, Ga. – A frustrated Sergio Garcia made headlines during the final round of the Masters on Sunday after an emotional outburst led to a broken club at Augusta National.

Drama on the tee box

What we know:

The 2017 Masters champion appeared frustrated after his first shot of the day went far to the right, leading to a bogey on the first hole. 

When Garcia hit a shot into a bunker on the second tee, he slammed his club into the turf twice. He then took a swipe at a table holding a green cooler, which caused the head of his driver to dangle from the shaft. 

Garcia reached over and yanked the head off completely. Despite the damage to his equipment, Garcia managed to make par on the hole before bogeying the third and fourth holes.

According to the Associated Press, Chairman of the Competitions Committee Geoff Yang spoke to Garcia on the fourth tee and issued a code-of-conduct warning.

Garcia later declined to discuss the situation with reporters. 

The warning is a first as the PGA Tour develops a code-of-conduct policy for competition. The AP cited an anonymous source. 

A light moment between countrymen

Dig deeper:

The pairing of Garcia and Jon Rahm, two former champions from Spain, drew significant attention even though both were out of contention. 

Later on the second hole, things turned comical when Garcia started carrying Rahm’s bag while Rahm’s caddie was tending to a bunker. 

The crowd applauded when Rahm took the bag from Garcia and started carrying it himself as caddie Adam Hayes hustled to catch up.

Past frustrations on the course

The backstory:

This is not the first time Garcia has struggled with his temper during a tournament. 

He was disqualified in 2019 at the Saudi International for damaging greens in frustration. 

During Sunday’s round at Augusta, he appeared to get control of himself before the situation escalated further.