Sergio Garcia De-escalates Broken Driver Situation, Claims Was Not on Purpose
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Sergio Garcia concluded his Open Championship performance with a final-round 68. It was a solid Sunday for him, to say the least, but he didn't seem pleased with the quality of his game.
His frustration peaked on the second hole, when he was seen unhappy with his tee shot. At that moment, Garcia reversed his swing in such an unexpected way that the shaft snapped in half.
This was a serious problem for the Spaniard, who had to play the next 16 holes without his driver. The rules of golf prohibit replacing clubs that have been broken by players during the round amid reactions of this kind.
🚨⛳️😤 #WATCH — LIV Golf star Sergio Garcia snapped his driver in a fit of rage after a poor tee shot on the 2nd hole.
He must play the final round without it and is not allowed to replace it.
pic.twitter.com/0teb8ZVFCI — NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 20, 2025
However, Garcia downplayed the matter, saying the club breakage was an accident.
"I didn't smack it straight down," he said, according to the transcripts of his post-round press conference. "I kind of, like, swiped it back. I've done that 50 times, and I've never broken a club. The shaft just snapped in half, and I was surprised. I wasn't trying to break it, and I was actually surprised when I saw that -- because usually, if it breaks, it breaks by the neck, and it broke in the middle of the shaft.
"I don't know, maybe the shaft had a little thing there because I didn't feel like with what I did it should have broken, but that's what it was, and then I got some good practice when I threw it."
Trending in The Right Direction
Garcia also said that moment on the second hole was probably the outlet for everything he's been feeling about his game over the past few months.
"To be totally honest, the last two or three months have been really tough the way I've played, and I controlled myself very, very well," he said, according to the transcripts. "To be totally honest, I didn't feel like I did that much on the second tee."
Sergio Garcia of Spain plays his second shot on the 12th hole during day three of The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 19, 2025 in Portrush, Northern Ireland.
Sergio Garcia of Spain plays his second shot on the 12th hole during day three of The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 19, 2025 in Portrush, Northern Ireland.Garcia got off to a strong start this season, with a win and two top-10 finishes in the first five LIV Golf tournaments. However, after missing the cut at the Masters Tournament, things changed dramatically.
In the next four tournaments, his best result was a tied-for-25th finish at LIV Golf Dallas. He made the cut at the PGA Championship, but finished tied for 67th.
His game has shown signs of recovery this month, with a top-10 finish at LIV Golf Andalusia and a T33 finish at the Open Championship.
Garcia needs this rebound if he wants to achieve his goal of returning to the Ryder Cup next September.
More Golf: PGA Tour's Wyndham Clark snubs media at Royal Portrush after Oakmont ban
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Sorry Smith stat as LIV date locked
Cameron Smith could be playing for much-needed ranking points when LIV returns to Adelaide in 2026, with a February date locked in for the second year after a timeslot shift in 2025 proved a monster success. More than 100,000 people attended The Grange this year after the tournament was moved from April and is so far the only confirmed schedule stop for the Saudi-backed tour. It could be too long to wait for Smith to feel some good Aussie vibes, however, with his 2025 in freefall after missing the cut at The Open at Royal Portrush. The 2022 Open champion became the only player to miss the cut in all four majors in 2025 after failing to reach the weekend and has now missed five major cuts in a row. Once No.2 in the world, Smith's ranking has dropped to 206, with questions being asked about the impact of his move to LIV, for which he was paid a reported $140m. His LIV teammate and great friend, Marc Leishman, jumped more than 50 places after being the only Australian to make the cut in Northern Ireland. The appearances of the LIV stars at The Open came amid revelations officials had put in a second application for world ranking points in the hope their players could get more access to the majors. It could also help players like Smith put himself in the frame for a Presidents Cup return as well as help American and European players get back on to Ryder Cup teams. Smith conceded 2025 had been 'frustrating' without a LIV win, or a podium finish, but was adamant he had been putting in the work and his best was 'coming'. 'It's such a weird game sometimes,' he said. 'I feel like I've been playing really good and not really getting much out of my golf, which is quite the opposite to how I normally play golf, so it's been a really frustrating year. 'Everything feels good, particularly on the range, on the putting green and stuff like that. I just have struggled to take it to the course and I feel like it's coming out. 'I feel like I'm getting more confidence and committing to more shots and maybe hitting the shot that I don't necessarily feel comfortable with, but the right shot. 'So that's when I play my best and, yeah, it's coming.' Smith tasted success in Adelaide in 2024, taking the team title, which helped elevate the event. 'Adelaide has been our pinnacle event with LIV Golf for the past few years, and it's always special going home and having our Aussie crowd behind us – they've been great to us, he said. 'The event keeps getting better every year and we are so excited to know we'll be coming back for many years to come. We can't wait for this year's event in Adelaide, which I'm sure next year will be even bigger.'
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
How many majors will Scheffler win in his career?
Rex Hoggard and Ryan Lavner discuss Scottie Scheffler's dominant four-shot 153rd Open Championship victory at Royal Portrush, predicting how many majors the father, husband and golfer can win during his playing career.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Inside Scottie Scheffler's winning mentality
The golfers themselves, as well as the golf writers, have seemingly broken down every angle of Scottie Scheffler's latest accomplishment: Winning his fourth major, and first Open Championship, with an utterly dominant and ruthless performance at Royal Portrush this past weekend. For another perspective, our Don Riddell has been catching up with Dr. Phil Hopley, who is a Consultant Psychiatrist and Mental Skills Coach at Cognacity, to analyze how the world number one remains on top of his game, and on top of the world.
