Main Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Sergio Garcia Sees Backlash After Incident At Masters

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports
By Taylor Craig | Last updated Apr 13, 2026 4:50 PM ET

Once again, there are players feeling the tensions of the Masters as they were all eyeing the prize. Previously, Robert MacIntyre felt enough frustration to raise a middle finger towards a pond that he landed a ball in twice in a row. That was just a simple thing; no one was at risk, and it fell under the rules against vulgarity. Sergio Garcia, however, is in a different bed of trouble after he let his frustrations manifest in a more physical outlet.

Sergio Garcia’s Outburst

Last year, Brooks Koepka received backlash during the LIV Dallas event after he took his frustrations out on a tee marker. It flew towards the spectators, and luckily, no one was hurt. On the fourth day of the Masters, Garcia did something similar. After starting the round 16 shots behind the lead, Garcia managed to get a bogey on the first hole. While his first shot was still in the air on the second hole, Garcia directed his anger towards the ground. Taking two chunks out of the ground with his club. He then went off to the side and took a swing at a cooler. The incident left the tee box, the cooler, and the club damaged.

Augusta National Gives A Warning

Much like with MacIntyre, the officials at the Augusta National took immediate notice. A bit of a hard thing to ignore with a club as stringent with the rules as this one. After witnessing the incident, Geoff Yang, the chairman of the competitions committee, gave Garcia a warning. When asked about the incident, Garcia gave the following statement.

“I’ve been frustrated through the year. Yeah, just obviously not super proud of it, but sometimes it happens.”

This is part of a new code of conduct that the PGA and the majors are trying to adopt. First violation is a warning, second gets the player a stroke penalty, and the third is a disqualification. Garcia didn’t have any further outbursts the rest of the day and only got the warning.

Garcia is no stranger to outbursts either. His temper has a reputation as well; this wasn’t even the first club he broke like this. Another outburst has gotten him disqualified from the 2019 Saudi International, after similarly damaging several greens. Shortly before joining LIV, Garcia got into an argument with a PGA rules official. Garcia was lucky he only got a warning, given the history and how it played out. Fan response has been more disappointed than anything, often referencing other similar incidents. Some commentators have even called for Garcia to lose his exemption over this.

Sergio Garcia At The Masters

Despite the incident that occurred on Sunday morning, Garcia was allowed to play till the end. Now the Masters has wrapped up with McIlroy winning two years in a row. Garcia finished up in 52nd place. Not the best position to be in, but he did make the cut this year and went through the whole tournament, minus a club head along the way.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: