A tradition like no other — Sergio Garcia’s childish antics surprise no one

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The legendary coach John Wooden used to say that character is what you are, while reputation is what others think you are. In the case of Sergio Garcia, both his character and reputation are indistinguishable and utterly undistinguished. The book of evidence on that is voluminous and requires no addendums, but the prince of petulance authored one anyway on Sunday at the Masters.

After a mediocre tee shot on the 2nd hole, Garcia angrily swiped his driver at the ground, carving up a chunk of turf. He then turned and smashed the club against a cooler sitting nearby, snapping off the head. A regular chop playing across town at the Patch, the muni course that Augusta National just renovated, might have been booted for a similar infraction, but even at 46 years of age, Garcia remains unaccustomed to accountability or consequences.

Lousy golf can drive even a measured soul to rage and despair, and guys who compete at the highest level ought to be granted some grace when the red mist rises. But how many withdrawals from the grace bank can one man make? At what point are his reserves exhausted?

More: Sergio Garcia breaks driver in frustration at 2026 Masters

Not when he flung his shoe into the gallery in a snit after his foot slipped. Nor when he spit in the cup during a tournament, leaving a charming gift for those playing behind him and proving that a gentleman who expectorates should not expect to rate as a gentleman. Not when he made a racially insensitive comment about Tiger Woods. Nor when he flipped off spectators at the U.S. Open, though that incident involved the oafish fans at Bethpage Black, so he gets a pass.

His puerile conduct peaked in 2019 when he was disqualified from a European Tour event in Saudi Arabia for burying his putter in five greens, causing serious damage. “You’re 40 years old, so you’ve got to grow up eventually,” Brooks Koepka said at the time.

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 10: Sergio Garcia of Spain looks on while playing the fifth hole during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

But all these years later, maturity is no closer to hand. It almost makes one pity the LIV officials who must now shoulder the papoose sling for Sergio.

Meeting the press after his final round 75—which left him 52nd out of 54 competitors who made the cut—Garcia displayed his usual mix of sophomoric crassness. “Just obviously not super proud of it, but sometimes it happens,” he said dismissively of the driver destruction, as if it doesn’t happen to him a lot more often than to his peers.

Masters officials took a dim view of his antics and visited Garcia on the 4th tee. Asked what was said in that conversation, the graying man-child could have owned it and apologized for conduct unbecoming a professional. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t.

“I'm not going to tell you,” he snapped.

Garcia has been an infantile basket case throughout his adult life. Perhaps some of that owes to the corrosive frustrations of 73 unsuccessful attempts to win a major championship, something he finally accomplished at the Masters in 2017, and the realization that he hasn’t delivered to the extent his talent promised when he emerged as a teenager. But mostly it’s because he’s a jerk.

Since that ’17 victory, Garcia has competed in the Masters seven times and missed the cut on six occasions. When asked about that recent record, his answer compensated in accuracy what it lacked in courtesy.

“Bad golf.”

Anything more specific?

“Bad shots.”

Such thoughtful and detailed responses have long endeared Garcia to generations of luckless scribes required to interview him while he’s busy tossing toys out of the baby carriage that ferries him through life. Undaunted, one intrepid journalist gamely pressed on.

“Did they give you a warning or something on the 4th —“

“Next question, please.”

But there was no next question, nor any need for one. Garcia had already said everything we needed to know.

One of the more charming aspects of the Masters is the reverence shown past champions who proved their character and built reputations at Augusta National, regardless of whether they remain competitive forces or are stooped with infirmities. That respect is reciprocated by almost all of them.

Eamon Lynch is a columnist for Golfweek and a regular contributor to the Golf Channel.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Sergio Garcia childish antics surprise no one at 2026 Masters