Sergio Garcia :: PGA Tour responds to heckling

• PGA Tour issues statement after Sergio Garcia heckled at Sawgrass
• The Spaniard lost out in a three-way play-off to Rickie Fowler
• Claimed that ‘some guys don’t deserve to be here watching golf’

The PGA Tour has issued a statement in response to the heckling that Sergio Garcia received during the final round of the Players Championship.

The Spaniard was jeered in spells throughout the tournament at TPC Sawgrass, intensifying on Sunday as he remained in contention for the title, before eventually losing out to Rickie Fowler in a three-way play-off, which also included Kevin Kisner.

Afterwards, an annoyed Sergio Garcia hit out at his hecklers, claiming that ‘some guys don’t deserve to be here watching golf’, before revealing that he was abused ‘three or four times’ on every hole on the back nine.

The actions of the fans at the Players Championship prompted numerous comments on the bunkered site and Facebook page fully supporting Garcia and his post-tournament comments and, taken from an article in the Guardian, the PGA Tour has recently released this statement.

“Fans who act inappropriately and affect the tournament experience with disrespectful behaviour will be ejected immediately” – PGA Tour statement

“It is our goal to create the absolute best tournament in golf – from the field to the course to the experience for the players inside the ropes and for the fans outside the ropes.

“If players were subjected to inappropriate comments and heckling during their rounds at the Players, that behaviour is completely contrary to our goal. Over the last several years, we doubled uniform police, significantly increased our private security presence and hired more senior officers to help with crowd control.

“We will continue to evaluate ways in which we can be more diligent in reducing any distraction to players and ensuring our no-tolerance policy is implemented. Fans who act inappropriately and affect the tournament experience with disrespectful behaviour will be ejected immediately.

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“The Players 2015 was one for the record books and we are dedicated to ensuring a few poorly behaved fans do not impact the competition or the experience for our players and fans.”

Of course, heckling in the USA is nothing new for Sergio Garcia. The Spaniard has been a vital component of successful European Ryder Cup teams in recent years, while the 2013 incidents involving Tiger Woods at the Players Championship and the subsequent ‘fried chicken’ saga has done little to improve his standing across the Atlantic. He also admitted after this year’s tournament that the fans’ reactions towards him was no more than he’d usually expect when in contention on the PGA Tour.

After the Players, Sergio Garcia returned to his homeland for the Spanish Open, where he just made the cut and finished T22.

Sergio Garcia :: Heckling

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