AUGUSTA, Ga. – The biggest storylines entering this week’s 2023 Masters were Scottie Scheffler’s title defenseRory McIlroy’s quest for the career grand slam, The return of Tiger Woods and the presence of The 18 LIV Golf players on the field.
Can you guess what Sergio Garcia is tired of talking about?
When asked how it felt to return to Augusta National Golf Club – a question unrelated to the tour run by Greg Norman and financed by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia – Garcia responded curtly to a reporter after his 2-over 74 in Thursday’s opening round of the first round. major male of the year.
“Completely normal. You need to stop this. You’re making a big deal out of it, and it’s you guys,” Garcia said, implying that only the media is pushing the divisive narrative between LIV Golf, the PGA and DP . world tours and ignoring the multiple ongoing lawsuits currently underway on both sides of the professional golf aisle.
“Yes, that’s true,” he said when a reporter disagreed. “I’ve had nothing but great things from every player I talk to. So please stop this and talk about the Masters.”
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Garcia, the 2017 Masters winner, was then asked about Thursday’s decision by Sports Resolutions, an independent panel based in the United Kingdom, which ruled in favor of Ability of DP World Tour to fine and suspend LIV players who performed in contradictory events without permission. A winner of 11 PGA Tour events and 16 DP World Tour events, Garcia said he was unaware of the decision. The 43-year-old was one of the players involved in the case but has since withdrew his name.
“How can I talk about something I don’t know about? Obviously I don’t watch the news. So I don’t know what happened,” Garcia said. “I’m not going to talk about something without all the information I need.”
That said, Garcia hasn’t ruled out competing in DP World Tour events in the future, if given the opportunity.
“We’ll see,” he said. “We’ll see how the year goes.”
Patrick Reed is never afraid of a little confrontation, but the 2018 Masters champion wasn’t at all defensive when asked about off-course events with LIV, particularly the idea of playing in a less competitive league ( Words from Cameron Smith) would harm their chances. In fact, he laughs about it.
“Last time I checked, I’m the one with the green jacket,” he said.
