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Sergio Garcia will face no further punishment from the European Tour despite deliberately damaging FIVE greens during the third round at the Saudi International.
The 2017 Masters champion was disqualified from the event under Rule 1.2a, which allows for action to be taken if a player has committed serious misconduct.
According to Martin Dempster of The Scotsman, players in the next four groups, including Patrick Reed, complained to officials about the mess Garcia had made, which included a mixture of deliberate ‘scuff marks’ and a divot hole.
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In a statement released after his disqualification, Garcia said: “I respect the decision of my disqualification. In frustration, I damaged a couple of greens, which I apologise for, and I have informed my fellow players it will never happen again.”
Dempster also tweeted this image of the damage Garcia inflicted on the sixth green.
Just been out to sixth green @RoyalGreens_KSA and this was the only sign of damage on an otherwise pristine green. This probably did look quite nasty immediately after Sergio Garcia apparently left this divot mark yesterday @ScotsmanSport @edinburghsport pic.twitter.com/1aYFHCwIWx
— Martin Dempster (@DempsterMartin) February 3, 2019
The last high-profile pro to be hit with a misconduct charge was Simon Dyson in 2013.
The Yorkshireman was disqualified from the BMW Masters, was forced to
pay a £30,000 fine and received a two-month suspended ban for tapping
down a spike mark, an act that was then against the rules, but which is
now allowed.
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However, it appears that no further action will be taken against
Garcia, due to him not only issuing a public apology, but also
personally to the players in the groups behind who had called in the
rules officials.
“The incident is over,” European Tour CEO Keith Pelley added to The Scotsman. “We have dealt with it. Sergio has apologised to the players and we move on.”
It is understood Garcia was heard criticising the greens earlier in the week and on Friday, he was seen taking
out his dislike of the bunkers by smashing down his sand wedge.
Sergio Garcia’s meltdown in a Royal Greens bunker a day prior to his disqualification for vandalism work on five greens. Story by @SkySportsGolf fills in details. Translations welcomed! https://t.co/UoGmPtTOz4 pic.twitter.com/dQMDN7y2PC
— Geoff Shackelford (@GeoffShac) February 4, 2019
However, it is believed that the incidents on Saturday were not captured by Sky Sports due to Garcia being out early in the third round.
Should Garcia face further disciplinary action?
Do you think Sergio Garcia should face further action for his ‘serious misconduct’ in Saudi Arabia? Let us know in the ‘Comments’ section below.
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