Opinion: Masters officials should have penalized Sergio Garcia further

Sergio Garcia (Tour Pro Golf Clubs, Wikimedia Commons)

Rory McIlroy of Holywood, Northern Ireland came away with the green jacket for the second consecutive year on Sunday. However, there was another story in the final round at Augusta, and that was Sergio Garcia’s temper tantrum on the second hole.

Garcia was not too pleased that the golf ball from his tee shot landed in the bunker. As a result, Garcia swiped the grass twice with his club, and then broke his driver over a nearby cooler.

Due to his inappropriate behaviour, Garcia was given a code-of-conduct warning according to ESPN. However, one needs to ask if Masters officials should have penalized Garcia further and if he deserved to be penalized a stroke or two. I think due to the nature of the outburst, a loss of a stroke should have been considered. This was the first time ever that a golfer received a code-of-conduct warning at the Masters, and Masters rules stated Garcia was unable to remove the club from his bag.

The rule at the Masters is a little bit similar to the rule in curling. According to Curling Canada, “if the sweeping device is broken due to brush abuse, the brush may not be replaced for the remainder of the game. The player may continue to play (subject to the Chief Umpire approval) but cannot sweep.” The difference here between golf and curling however is the fact that golfers have more clubs in their bag to use.

On Wednesday, Garcia apologized for his behaviour. However, he has greater issues to deal with at the moment. That is because the LIV Tour, of which he is a member, is having financial problems and the tour’s future is in jeopardy.