Sergio Garcia hits out at Rory McIlroy and says he is ‘lacking maturity’ for ending their friendship when the Spaniard joined LIV… and claims the World No 3 ‘doesn’t respect’ him and has no desire to EVER repair their relationship
Sergio Garcia has branded Rory McIlroy as immature for ending their friendship because the Spaniard left the PGA Tour for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit.
The duo’s friendship in years gone by was well known – McIlroy was a groomsman at Garcia’s 2017 wedding and they competed together in Ryder Cup teams.
But when Spaniard Garcia quit the PGA Tour to take the millions on offer from LIV, it signaled the end of his relationship with McIlroy, who has by far been the most vociferous critic of LIV.
‘I think it is very sad,’ Garcia, 43, told The Telegraph. ‘I think that we’ve done so many things together and had so many experiences that for him to throw that away just because I decided to go to a different tour, well, it doesn’t seem very mature; lacking maturity, really.
‘But Rory’s got his own life and he makes his own choices, the same way that I make mine. I respect his choices, but it seems like he doesn’t respect the ones I make. So a one-way street.’
Garcia insisted that he moved to LIV because the organization listens to every player and not just a couple – which appeared to be a thinly veiled suggestion that the PGA Tour favor views from McIlroy and another close friend, Tiger Woods.
‘We had so much criticism when we started off last June that it unified us all together and that included with the bosses, ‘he said. ‘You can suggest things, ideas, and although they are not always followed up and acted upon, you are listened to.
‘That didn’t happen on the PGA Tour. There are only two, maybe three players who the bosses listen to on that Tour.’
McIlroy recently said he had deleted Garcia’s number off his phone and the Spaniard texted him ‘basically telling me to shut up about LIV, blah, blah, blah’.
And last September, the 33-year-old McIlroy claimed he is not friendly terms with any LIV player, saying: ‘I wouldn’t say I’ve got much of a relationship with them at the minute.
‘Their best days are behind them. I haven’t done anything different. They are the ones that have made that decision. I can sit here and keep my head held high.’
The first LIV event of the year starts on Friday in Mexico, where players are competing for a share of a $25m prizefund.
For now, Garcia and McIlroy remain on separate paths but they will compete in the same tournament at the 2023 Masters at the beginning of April.
The first major of the golfing calendar runs from April 6-9 at Augusta National in Georgia.
Garcia won there in 2017 while for McIlroy, it is the one major title that eludes him. Last year he was a runner-up but was three shots behind winner Scottie Scheffler.
