SERGIO GARCIA INSISTS he has no regrets about gifting Rickie Fowler a par when he was faced with a 17-foot putt at the weekend. The Spanish golfer, who went on to lose by a shot to the American, declares he would not change his actions despite his WGC Matchplay elimination.
Garcia held up his match with Fowler on the sixth hole when he was allowed a drop. His ball handed landed amid a swarm of bees and, after lengthy deliberation, he was allowed a free drop. As Fowler was accommodating to his plight, Garcia repaid the kind gesture by allowing him to pick up his par putt even though it was less than straightforward. The pair halved the hole with Fowler winning out after a birdie on the 18th.
Speaking ahead of the Honda Classic, Garcia said, “I don’t care if some people think it was wrong or right. For me it was the right thing to do. If not, I would have been thinking about it throughout the whole match and probably throughout the whole week, and it’s what I felt it was right to do.”
He added, “This is the way my dad taught me to play the game of golf. I think that winning is important, but playing the game the right way, it’s even more important for me. I tried to beat Rickie as hard as I could, and unfortunately he just played awesome the last 10 holes.”
Garcia, who is aiming for his seventh Ryder Cup appearance in the Ryder Cup later this year, said he would repeat his actions if faced with a similar circumstance while facing an American opponent.
“It depends on the situation,” he commented, “It depends on if I would have felt it was the right thing to do, if I would have felt like I went out of my way to — or too much time or something. Yeah, I probably would have done it, too. You shouldn’t change because it’s the Match Play, the Accenture Match Play or the Ryder Cup.
I think at the end of the day, we all have a great opportunity to be role models to a lot of guys, a lot of kids and a lot of people, and you should be like that every time you have a chance. That’s the way of golf. It’s always been played, and that’s the way it should be.”
Sergio Garcia would have no problem conceding 17-foot putt to USA in Ryder Cup
SERGIO GARCIA INSISTS he has no regrets about gifting Rickie Fowler a par when he was faced with a 17-foot putt at the weekend. The Spanish golfer, who went on to lose by a shot to the American, declares he would not change his actions despite his WGC Matchplay elimination.
Garcia held up his match with Fowler on the sixth hole when he was allowed a drop. His ball handed landed amid a swarm of bees and, after lengthy deliberation, he was allowed a free drop. As Fowler was accommodating to his plight, Garcia repaid the kind gesture by allowing him to pick up his par putt even though it was less than straightforward. The pair halved the hole with Fowler winning out after a birdie on the 18th.
Speaking ahead of the Honda Classic, Garcia said, “I don’t care if some people think it was wrong or right. For me it was the right thing to do. If not, I would have been thinking about it throughout the whole match and probably throughout the whole week, and it’s what I felt it was right to do.”
He added, “This is the way my dad taught me to play the game of golf. I think that winning is important, but playing the game the right way, it’s even more important for me. I tried to beat Rickie as hard as I could, and unfortunately he just played awesome the last 10 holes.”
Garcia, who is aiming for his seventh Ryder Cup appearance in the Ryder Cup later this year, said he would repeat his actions if faced with a similar circumstance while facing an American opponent.
“It depends on the situation,” he commented, “It depends on if I would have felt it was the right thing to do, if I would have felt like I went out of my way to — or too much time or something. Yeah, I probably would have done it, too. You shouldn’t change because it’s the Match Play, the Accenture Match Play or the Ryder Cup.
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