Sergio Garcia received an official warning from Augusta National for causing damage to a tee box and breaking his driver during the final round of the Masters tournament. Throughout the event, Garcia struggled to make a significant impact on the leaderboard despite safely making the cut. His frustration escalated during the final round when he hit a poor shot on the second hole, resulting in him slamming his driver on the ground and wrapping its shaft around a water cooler, causing the club head to nearly detach. As a result, Garcia had to finish the round without his driver, ending the day two over par and seven over for the tournament.
Viewers expressed disappointment over Garcia’s behavior, with some calling for disciplinary action from Augusta National. Their concerns were addressed when Geoff Yang, the head of the competition committee for the Masters, approached Garcia a few holes later. Reports indicate that the 46-year-old, a former Masters champion, was issued an official code of conduct warning for his actions.
Garcia had entered the tournament with low confidence following a slow start to the golf season, expressing his dissatisfaction with his game. Although he started with a solid even-par round on Thursday, he failed to climb the leaderboard in the subsequent rounds. Notably, Garcia’s incident was not the only one of its kind during the tournament, as another player, Bob MacIntyre, also faced a code of conduct violation after displaying unsportsmanlike conduct on the course.
It was later revealed that MacIntyre was struggling with a neck injury that almost led to his withdrawal from the competition.