Sergio García was warned by Masters officials after smashing his driver in frustration during the final round at Augusta National. The incident occurred on the second tee, where the Spaniard found a bunker and reacted by slamming his club into the ground twice before whacking it against a water cooler. The club snapped, leaving García to play the remaining 16 holes without his driver.
Greenkeepers were required to repair the turf damaged by García's outburst, and he was spoken to by a tournament official on the fourth hole. Under Augusta's new disciplinary policy, a warning is followed by a two-shot penalty and subsequent disqualification if a player loses his temper three times.
García showed little remorse after his round. "Just obviously not super-proud of it, but sometimes it happens," he said. Reflecting on wider frustrations, he added: "It's fine, it's what it is. You've just got to deal with it." He declined to disclose the content of his conversation with the official, replying "Next question, please" when pressed.
The outburst was a further twist in García's complicated relationship with Augusta, where he won his only major in 2017. Since that triumph, he has not recorded a top-10 finish in a major and has made only two Masters cuts, finishing this year eight over par. He attributed his struggles to "bad golf" and "bad shots".
Playing partner Jon Rahm expressed sympathy for García. "Obviously he hasn't been swinging it the way he would like," Rahm said. "I talked to him when I could to lift his spirits up a little bit." Rahm finished one over par, while Keegan Bradley closed with a 66 and Viktor Hovland a 67 to end the tournament at three under and four under respectively.
