Golf legend Sergio Garcia was unable to hide his frustration after a shanked tee shot at Royal Portrush’s par-5 second hole at The Open.
Garcia, enraged by his attempt on Sunday, slammed his driver in the turf, snapping it in two as his ball veered off in the direction of spectators to the left.
And to add further insult to injury, a little-known rule is set to add to the 45-year-old’s problems.
The rule states that a club can’t be replaced, which means that Garcia will have left with his remaining 13 clubs for the rest of the round.
Remarkably, the Spaniard salvaged birdie on the hole to move to one under par for the tournament.
Garcia, who joined LIV Golf in 2022, has won 36 international tournaments as a professional. His successes include the 2008 Players Championship and the 2017 Masters Tournament.
Sergio Garcia snapped his club in anger during the final round of The Open
Garcia, who joined LIV Golf in 2022, has won 36 international tournaments as a professional
‘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,’ said Garcia.
‘To be totally honest, I didn’t feel like I did that much on the second tee. Obviously I didn’t hit a good drive, and I kind of – I didn’t smack it straight down. 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.’
