The rivalry between Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia heated up again on Saturday during the third round of The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass when Garcia complained that Tiger caused some noise while he was hitting a shot.
Garcia was getting ready to hit his second shot on No. 2 and was at the right side of the fairway. After he swung, he looked to his left where Woods was getting ready to play his shot. Apparently the crowd started to cheer as Woods brought out his 5-wood, which Garcia thought could have been avoided.
“I wouldn’t say [Tiger Woods] didn’t see that I was ready, but you do have a feel when the other guy is gonna hit,” Garcia said after his round, via Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner.
Tiger defended himself after the round, saying the marshal told him Garcia had already hit his shot.
“The marshal told me he already hit, so I pulled a club and was getting ready to play my shot,” Woods said, via Lavner.
Tiger also couldn’t resist getting in a little dig at the Spaniard.
“Not real surprising he’s complaining about something.”
During a rain delay, Garcia also mentioned in an interview that Woods’ actions “didn’t help very much.”
“I wouldn’t say that he didn’t see that I was ready, but you do have a feel when the other guy is going to hit,” Garcia said. “Right as I was on top of the backswing, I think he must have pulled like a 5-wood or a 3-wood out of the rough and obviously everybody started screaming.
“So that didn’t help very much. It was unfortunate. If I hit a good shot there and maybe make birdie, it gets my day started in a bit of a different way.”
Garcia and Woods have long had a history, starting with Tiger’s win at the PGA Championship at Medinah in 1999. They were both tied for second at 10-under for the tournament after play was suspended during the third round because of darkness.
Video via Guyism
