Tiger Woods vs. Sergio Garcia: The feud explained
Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia are two of the biggest names in golf. Both have won the Masters and were crowned successful golfers at a very young age.
Woods has won the major championship fifteen times, while Sergio has reached world No. 2 in his career.
However, there has always been one thing that has garnered the attention of their fans: their infamous feud, which has made headlines for more than a decade.
Sergio Garcia was considered the future of Spanish golf during the early days of his career. However, Garcia started his journey with a blast. He got into a debatable argument with Tiger Woods at the start of his career.
It was 1999 when both golfers competed at the PGA Championship and landed in hot water. Woods registered a one-shot victory at the tournament, and Sergio came forward to congratulate him with a hug. But soon, it was pretty clear they were playing along for the camera.
The friendly rivalry, which is very common among players, soon soured into a big feud. The two later clashed in a made-for-a-TV match dubbed 'Battle at Bighorn' in 2000.
Sergio Garcia won the tournament and celebrated as if he had won a major, perhaps igniting hatred among them.
Sergio Garcia reportedly made a racist comment about Tiger Woods
1999 and 2000 were just the beginning of the decade-long feud between Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia. In 2002, they again engaged in a brutal word-of-mouth war.
The two squared off to play at the US Open at Bethpage Black. The match was called off due to heavy rain, but Garcia complained that the officials were biased.
Perhaps Tiger Woods was the poster boy at the time, but it was a big comment to make that irked Woods.
A few years later, they were again tied to play in The Open Championship, which Tiger Woods won by six strokes. It was later reported that Woods insulted Garcia by texting his friend, "Bludgeoned Tweety Bird," in reference to Sergio Gracia, who dressed up all yellow on match day.
The feud took a dirty turn in 2013 when Garcia said he would invite Woods over for a fried chicken dinner after the European Tour Players Cup. However, he later apologized for his remark and said:
"I answered a question that was clearly made towards me as a joke with a silly remark, but in no way was the comment meant in a racist manner."
Tiger Woods was asked in one of his interviews back in 2013 if he wanted to clear the air with Sergio Garcia, to which he said, "No." Later, when Garcia was asked to respond to the same, he said:
"He doesn't need me in his life, and I don't need him in mine."
Woods and Garcia last played together at the Masters in 2022, where the 15-time major winner finished T-47, and later Sergio joined the LIV Golf Series. Both golfers have qualified to play at the 2023 Masters.