News
Sergio Garcia DQd for “serious misconduct” after damaging greens at Saudi International
Sergio Garcia has been disqualified from the Saudi International after violating rule 1.2a, the European Tour said in a statement.
The rule allows for player disqualification in instances of serious misconduct.
According to Martin Dempster of the Scotsman, players behind Garcia alerted rules officials to the damage during the third round, which resulted in a meeting with chief executive Keith Pelley following the conclusion of the Spaniard’s round.
Garcia, who opened the competition at Royal Greens G&CC with rounds of 69, 70, said in the statement
“I respect the decision of my disqualification. In frustration, I damaged a couple of greens, for which I apologise for, and I have informed my fellow players it will never happen again.”
Garcia had already taken his frustrations out on a bunker during the tournament’s second round and indicated the course’s paspalum greens weren’t to his liking earlier in the week.
- LIKE106
- LEGIT16
- WOW36
- LOL35
- IDHT3
- FLOP12
- OB8
- SHANK88
This week last year, I found myself praying to the weather goddesses and gods that Rochester would be spared their wrath over the next seven days. The 2023 Oak Hill PGA Championship (that was slated for August when the contract was signed) was on the horizon, and I wanted my region to show well. Things turned out fine, with all four seasons making an appearance, a PGA Professional (Blockie!) stealing hearts, and a proven champion in Koepka (although I was pulling for Viktor.)
This year, no concerns. Louisville will shine this week at Valhalla, but we’ve matters to consider before we look to four days of coverage this week. Nelly did not win on the LPGA this week, so who did? The PGA Tour held two events in the Carolinas, and Tour Champions celebrated a major event in Alabama. Four noteworthy events to run down, so let’s head to RunDownTown and take care of business.
LPGA @ Founders Cup: Rose blooms
There was a sense that Rose Zhang might have a role in the 2020s version of the LPGA. After winning everything there was in amateur golf, she came out and won her first tournament as a professional. That was last May and, let’s be honest, who among us thought it would take 12 months for Zhang to win again? Rhymes with hero, I know.
This week in New Jersey, eyes were on Nelly Korda, as she made a run at a sixth consecutive win on the LPGA circuit. Korda ran out of gas on Saturday, and that was just fine. Madelene Sagstrom and Zhang had turned the soiree at Upper Montclair into a battle of birdies. Gabriela Ruffels came third at nine-under par. No one else reached double digits under par but Sagstrom and Zhang. They didn’t just reach -10…they more than doubled it.
Sagstrom had the look of a winner with five holes left to play. She was three shots clear of Zhang, at 23-under par. The Swede played her closing quintet in plus-one, finishing at 22-deep, 13 shots ahead of Ruffels. That performance we’d anticipated from Zhang? It happened on Sunday. She closed with four birdies in five holes to snatch victory number two, by two shots. Spring is a lovely time for a Rose in bloom.
Take a look back at hole No. 1… @rosezhang is living life on the edge ? pic.twitter.com/o6z6SK7TRA
— LPGA (@LPGA) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour @ Wells Fargo: Rory the Fourth is crowned in Charlotte
Xander Schauffele is a likable lad. He has an Olympic gold medal on his shelf, and a few PGA Tour titles to his credit. Even X knows that even par won’t get much done in a final round unless conditions are brutal. They weren’t brutal at Quail Hollow on Sunday. X posted even par on day four. It kept him ahead of third-place finisher Byeong Hun An but gave him zero chance of challenging for the title.
Paired with Xander in round four was the King of Quail, Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman had previously won thrice at the North Carolina track, and he was champing at the bit to gain some momentum on the road to Louisville. While Xander scored increasingly worse along the week (64-67-70-71) McIlroy saved his best round for the final round. Thanks to five birdies and two eagles, McIlroy ran away with the event, winning his fourth Wells Fargo by five over Schauffele.
HOLE-OUT EAGLE FOR RORY!!!
He now leads by SIX! pic.twitter.com/UE49lwfwNC
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour @ Myrtle Beach Classic: a little CG won the inaugural week
It always seemed odd that the PGA Tour had zero stops along the Grand Strand each season. This week’s event seemed odd in that the golfers played the same course each day, and there were zero handicaps involved. Most events at Myrtle Beach involve hundreds of amateurs at dozens of courses, with all sorts of handicaps.
The Dunes Club is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. course, down toward Pawley’s Island. It claims what used to be considered an unreachable, par-five hole, the watery 13th. Nothing is unreachable any longer, including a 22-under par total for a six-shot win. Chris Gotterup, a former Rutgers and Oklahoma golfer, played sizzling golf all week and won by a sextet of shots. Gotterup opened with 66, then improved to 64 on Friday. His Saturday 65 sounded a beacon of “come get me,” and his closing 67 ensured that second place was the only thing up for grabs.
Chasing the podium’s second level were a bunch of young Americans. In the end, Alastair Docherty and Davis Thompson reached 16-deep, thanks to rounds of 64 and 68 on Sunday. They held off six golfers at 15-under par. The victory was Gotterup’s first on tour and should be enough to get him a Wikipedia page, among other plaudits.
Leader by SIX!
@ChrisGotterup | @MyrtleBeachC pic.twitter.com/TVdA6ZPYc4— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour Champions @ Regions Traditions: Vindication for Dougie
Doug Barron, if I recall correctly, was suspended by the Powers That Be, way back in 2009, for testosterone. He was naturally low in the hormone, so he took supplements. This did not sit well with certain admins, so he was put on the shelf for 18 months. Not cool.
In 2019, Barron came out on the Tour Champions. He won in August. The next year, despite the craziness of Covid, he won again. Barron hit a dry spell for a few years. He kept his card, but accrued no additional victories. In late April, Barron showed serious signs of life, with a t2 at Mitsubishi. This week in Birmingham, he jumped out to a lead, lost it, then gained it back on Saturday. With major championship glory on the line, Barron brought the train into the station with 68 on Sunday.
Stephen Alker, the man who could not lose just two years ago, gave serious chase with a closing 63. He moved up 11 slots, into solo 2nd on Sunday. He finished two shots back of the champion. Two shots ain’t much. Cough once and you drop a pair. Third place saw a three-way tie, including last year’s winner (Steve Stricker) and runner-up (Ernie Els.) Despite the intimidating presence of the game’s greats, however, Doug Barron had more than enough of everything this week, and he has a third Tour Champions title to show off.
At the @RegionsTrad, all champions receive a green bike.
Doug Barron decided to take a victory lap ? pic.twitter.com/bEzENMjZwv
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 13, 2024
- LIKE0
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
- LIKE4
- LEGIT1
- WOW0
- LOL1
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK2
Tommy Fleetwood has been attached to his Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter for years now. However, this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, we did spot him testing a new putter that is very different, yet somewhat similar, to his current gamer.
This new putter is a TaylorMade Spider Tour X head but with a brand new neck we haven’t seen on a Spider before. A flow neck is attached to the Spider head and gives the putter about a 1/2 shaft offset. This style neck will usually increase the toe hang of the putter and we can guess it gets the putter close to his White Hot Pro #3.
Another interesting design is that lack of TaylorMade’s True Path alignment on the top of the putter. Instead of the large white center stripe, Tommy’s Spider just has a very short white site line milled into it. As with his Odyssey, Tommy seems to be a fan of soft inserts and this Spider prototype looks to have the TPU Pure Roll insert with 45° grooves for immediate topspin and less hopping and skidding.
The sole is interesting as well in that the rear weights don’t look to be interchangeable and are recessed deep into the ports. This setup could be used to push the CG forward in the putter for a more blade-like feel during the stroke, like TaylorMade did with the Spider X Proto Scottie Scheffler tested out.
Tommy’s putter is finished off with an older Super Stroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip in blue and white. The Mid Slim was designed to fit in between the Ultra Slim 1.0 and the Slim 3.0 that was a popular grip on tour.
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- LIKE33
- LEGIT3
- WOW3
- LOL1
- IDHT1
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
Dave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters
Things got heated at the Houston Open between Tony Finau and Alejandro Tosti. Here’s why
Justin Thomas on the equipment choice of Scottie Scheffler that he thinks is ‘weird’
Tiger Woods arrives at 2024 Masters equipped with a putter that may surprise you
‘Absolutely crazy’ – Major champ lays into Patrick Cantlay over his decision on final hole of RBC Heritage
Report: Tiger Woods has ‘eliminated sex’ in preparation for the 2024 Masters
Two star names reportedly blanked Jon Rahm all week at the Masters
Report: LIV Golf identifies latest star name they hope to sign to breakaway tour
Neal Shipley presser ends in awkward fashion after reporter claims Tiger handed him note on 8th fairway
What we know about Bryson DeChambeau’s 3D-printed Avoda irons
Michael Block WITB 2024 (May)
Michael Block what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship. Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 “Dot” (9 degrees @7.5) Shaft:...
Brooks Koepka WITB 2024 (May)
Brooks Koepka what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship. Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 “Dot” (10.5 degrees @9.75) Shaft:...
Rory McIlroy’s winning WITB: 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25) Buy here. Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees) Buy here. Shaft:...
Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)
Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver:...
-
19th Hole3 weeks agoLET pro gives detailed financial breakdown of first week on tour…and the net result may shock you
-
19th Hole7 days agoReport: LIV star turns down PGA Championship invite due to ‘personal commitments’
-
19th Hole2 weeks agoGary Player claims this is what ‘completely ruined’ Tiger Woods’ career
-
Equipment6 days agoDetails on Justin Thomas’ driver switch at the Wells Fargo Championship
-
Whats in the Bag2 weeks agoTeam McIlowry (Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry) winning WITBs: 2024 Zurich Classic
-
Whats in the Bag7 days agoKeegan Bradley WITB 2024 (May)
-
Equipment2 weeks agoGolf fans left surprised by LIV’s choice of course for its 2024 individual championship event
-
Equipment2 weeks agoWhy Wesley Bryan is playing two 4-irons this week
DaveJ
Feb 4, 2019 at 9:55 pm
As someone who suffers from fits of rage myself, I can tell you that it isn’t something you can just stop doing. You can work to control it and mask it, but at some point your anger will get the better of you. You are immediately embarrassed and regretful but in the moment it can be impossible to get away from it. That being said, it was right to DQ him and he should probably be fined/suspended as well because the behavior can’t be condoned.
Tom
Feb 4, 2019 at 6:47 pm
Tiger swore and threw clubs, was never suspended or penalized now was he?
JP
Feb 6, 2019 at 10:18 pm
And that has what to do with Sergio damaging greens? Completely different offenses.
Cm
Feb 4, 2019 at 1:45 pm
I can’t decide till I see the pictures of the greens. Still think Rahm is far worse slamming clubs regularly.
joro
Feb 4, 2019 at 12:38 pm
La la la, same old thing. He has a fit, reacts with a negative and then apologizes “I weel never do eet again, that is until next time. Face it, Sergio is nothing but a spoiled brat who thinks the World is against him and says so. Of course he does nothing to change that with his according to the pitiful “talking Heads” announcers who refer to his actions as the Fiery Spaniard. Fiery my fat ass, he is a spoiled little brat.
Suspend him for a few tournaments and see how bit the fire is after that.
Dr Remo
Feb 4, 2019 at 12:22 pm
Garcia deserves it.
Wish the same conduct standards applied to tennis…..e.g. Serena Williams’ outbursts and physically threatening line judges are a disgrace and should result in suspension.
Darryl
Feb 4, 2019 at 7:19 am
Whilst he’s no worse for losing his temper than any other of a dozen reasonably big name players out there, it’s what he does when he loses his temper that baffles. Petulance is one thing when you break your driver or putter over your knee, it’s another thing completely when you damage the playing surfaces, also the fact he did it on multiple greens. Ok, the red mist came down and he did something stupid in the first instance, he realises his mistake, apologises profusely, offers to WD and/or waive appearance fee, case closed. But to do it over and over again? Referee should have hauled him up for it at the very least. Disappointed the European tour haven’t announced at least a token ban. Surely they have to take into account the fact that he has very nearly injured spectators in the past. Apologists can no longer even say “it’s just frustration from never having won a major”, which always used to be the line. Monty was a properly bad tempered SOB when he played poorly and famously never won a proper major (face the facts, Champions tour), but I don’t remember him every carving a green up or throwing a club in a dangerous fashion, or fouling the hole. I’ve been a Sergio fan a long time and really enjoyed watching him break his major duck at Augusta in 2017, but he’s becoming impossible to justify supporting.
GolfConsumer
Feb 4, 2019 at 1:13 am
Callaway should drop his immature a__.
Thats it, I’m not buying another piece of Callaway golf equipment until they drop him!
jgpl001
Feb 3, 2019 at 3:01 pm
Anger, frustration, well we have all experienced that
Kick your bag, slam a club, swear, we have all done that
Damaging the golf course – WAY OUT OF ORDER, NOT ACCEPTABLE
Ban the brat
Chris
Feb 3, 2019 at 1:51 pm
Y’all are hating because you have immunity online. Be quiet, everyone gets mad. Go wash your super cavity back irons that you still shank.
JP
Feb 4, 2019 at 12:47 am
And the fact that many of us play SGI irons and aren’t good golfers justifies Sergio in some way? Please explain.
john
Feb 5, 2019 at 2:17 pm
Very mature response. Not.
There’s getting mad and there’s getting mad. Sergio damaged five green – something I assume you’d be unhappy at if it was a member of your club doing it. Garcia has a hugely privileged life and the least he can do is act like the role model he is to many young golfers. Sergio seems like a decent enough guy, if a little emotional. I’m sure he’ll be hugely embarrassed by how he acted and would accept any criticism that comes his way.
Dave C.
Feb 3, 2019 at 6:37 am
Many millions of dollars usually make most people jerks.
Golf pros, football players, capitalists, old money, new money.
Chip2Win
Feb 3, 2019 at 8:38 am
I’m pretty sure there are lots of poor people who are jerks too.
Central Oregon Golf
Feb 2, 2019 at 11:34 pm
I hope he never wins again. Should have kicked him off the course immediately instead of after round. Agree on more severe penalty in the way of suspension, fine, and maintenance fee to fix & improve course. Maybe the tours should sponsor anger management as well?!
Safe Hans
Feb 12, 2019 at 8:03 am
Totally agree, he should be serving a ban for what he did – a serious lack of respect to the course and our game.
Johnny Rebel
Feb 2, 2019 at 9:50 pm
Sergio acts like a n igger when he doesn’t get his way.
AC in TX
Feb 2, 2019 at 9:26 pm
I damage greens all the time – it’s called hitting it fat … very fat.
JP
Feb 3, 2019 at 10:23 am
Either you don’t know the difference between greens and fairways, or you really have no business putting.
Jose Pinatas
Feb 2, 2019 at 5:15 pm
Can someone post a video of this? I love Sergio meltdowns, super entertaining..
JP
Feb 2, 2019 at 9:34 pm
Yeah, I’d like to see what kind of damage he caused with a putter and how he tried to disguise it as normal play. What a JackA$$
Oldplayer
Feb 2, 2019 at 4:26 pm
This behavior shows the character of the guy much more than any words.
What a spoiled brat. He’s off my list for sure.
Benjamin Kaiser
Feb 3, 2019 at 8:47 am
True dat
Nolan
Feb 2, 2019 at 3:18 pm
He’s lucky the Prince didn’t make him disappear.
cdj
Feb 2, 2019 at 1:25 pm
Year back at Tour Championship SG hit a drive from tee box where I was at the time. Shot started on a good line to which I responded “good shot” or the like. He did not like where it ended up and looked at me saying “yeah, nice shot” in his snarky voice while slamming the tee marker.
Dude has Jameis Winston syndrome.
Acemandrake
Feb 2, 2019 at 1:18 pm
No gratitude for God-given & earthly riches.
When will he grow up?
Robert
Feb 4, 2019 at 12:10 pm
Will he EVER grow up. No more Callaway or Adidas until he is gone.
Kolby
Feb 2, 2019 at 12:51 pm
Suspend Sergio Garcia from both Tours until AFTER Augusta! LOL
Johnny balls
Feb 2, 2019 at 12:44 pm
Paspalum sucks. Saudi Arabia sucks. No booze. Screw that place.
francisco borja lopez diez
Feb 4, 2019 at 7:27 am
The players had a yacht next to their hotel in which they were being served alcohol afer 9 pm…and 25 girls to entertain from Russia, Poland…
They had a concert with Mariah Carey as well as a dj session form DJ Tiesto. The country may not be your favorite place, but be sure these guys were treated much better than a regular tourist
john
Feb 11, 2019 at 11:33 am
A Mariah Carey concert sounds like ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ to me. Might explain Sergio’s meltdown.
stevez
Feb 21, 2019 at 1:00 pm
I thought I read he was happily married, new baby, and Masters Champ. Wass the problem now
Alan Schwepps
Feb 2, 2019 at 12:32 pm
Gee I wonder if he’s going to get fined more than $98,000 that Li got dinged for his asinine rule violation.
Make him pay to fix the green’s and fine him $250,000 for being a douche nozzle….
dat
Feb 2, 2019 at 12:00 pm
Pathetic, this isn’t a drunken muni round, Sergio.
Rory O Donnell
Feb 2, 2019 at 11:14 am
Spitting into holes and now this
Bert Gwaltney
Feb 2, 2019 at 10:09 am
Sometimes I’m confused about “like” or “shank” If I click “like” does that mean I like that he was DQ’ed or “like” what he did. If I click “shank” does that mean I don’t agree with the DQ or agree with it.
Maybe it’s rather I “like or shank” the article?
I’m glad he was DQ’ed, and yes he’s had it coming for a long time. Good on you European Tour. Maybe the PGA Tour will see your example of enforcing the Rules of Golf.
Denny Jones
Feb 2, 2019 at 9:17 am
DQ like this should be swift and have more bite. Instead of just a DQ, the penalty should be more severe. If they weren’t allow to participate in a major because of a fit of rage, the rage would disappear.
joe
Feb 2, 2019 at 10:04 am
Im a Sergio fan but I agree with you. This act stresses my affinity for him. And he is habitual so maybe a 3 event suspension?
Bert Gwaltney
Feb 2, 2019 at 10:17 am
Again he has embarrassed himself, displayed his lack of respect for the game and fellow competitors. I’ve had tried to accept his behavior as being immature, or having a fiery Spaniard temperament, but this goes past that.
Sad news for the game and Champion golfer. I suspect he will lose all respect from those who love and support the game, the patrons.
Mower
Feb 2, 2019 at 12:26 pm
“I damaged a couple of greens.” WTF!?
Yeah, time to crack down on this shit.