Sergio Garcia Had the Most Disgusting Moment at the Masters, and What He Said After It Made It Worse

Sergio Garcia finished 52nd in this year’s Masters. | Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

The 2026 Masters lived up to the hype as Rory McIlroy etched his name into the history books by winning his second straight green jacket. The tournament had yet another dramatic final round that had viewers glued to their televisions, watching the best golfers in the world being pushed to their limits on the biggest stage in the sport.

Hours before McIlroy tapped in for bogey and the win on 18, a past Masters champion had the most embarrassing and disgusting moment of the tournament and he had nobody to blame but himself.

We’re talking about Sergio Garcia, who has had countless moments like this one throughout his career and it’s why so many fans have grown tired of his act over the years.

In case you missed it, Garcia, who went out early in Sunday’s final round, was not happy with his drive on the par-5 2nd hole. He immediately slammed his driver into the ground a few times, taking a good chunk of grass out of the immaculate tee box. He didn’t stop there, however. He then walked over to the water cooler and whacked it with his driver so hard that the head of the club broke off the shaft leaving him without a driver for the rest of the round.

Here’s that moment:

A whole series of events from Sergio Garcia earlier on Sunday at the Masters 😳

😬 Slams his driver in frustration
😬 Breaks his driver against a cooler
😅 Carries Jon Rahm's bag while Rahm's caddie tends to a bunker pic.twitter.com/he09pvWuv8

— ESPN (@espn) April 12, 2026

That’s a horrible look for anyone, but especially for someone who has won the Masters before. This tournament is the most special event in all of golf and the grounds of Augusta National are some of the most hallowed in all of sports.

Garcia’s actions were so bad that a tournament official came out and gave him a verbal code of conduct warning during his round.

⚠️🏌️🌺 #WARNING — Geoff Yang, the chairman of the competition committee at The Masters, spoke to Sergio Garcia on the 4th tee and gave him a code of conduct warning after he smashed his driver and broke it on the second tee box

Should Sergio be punished? pic.twitter.com/LUjlv0NXua

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) April 12, 2026

What Sergio Garcia said after his round about the incident

While Garcia’s actions on the second tee were really bad, what he said after made it worse. Instead of being remorseful or apologetic, he had this smug retort when asked about it: “I’m obviously not super proud of it but sometimes it happens.”

When pressed on what the tournament official said to him, Garcia was even more standoffish, saying: “I’m not going to tell you.”

He then later added that he didn’t really care that he broke his driver on the water cooler because it actually helped him the rest of the round.

“It makes it very easy,” Garcia said. “I just have to hit 3-wood all the time. I didn’t have to choose another club.”

Here’s his post-round media scrum:

🗣️🇪🇸 #SERGIO RESPONDS — “I’M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU”, when asked what the Masters rules official told him regarding him getting a warning. 😳

He added: “Just obviously not super proud of it, but sometimes it happens.” pic.twitter.com/cCanpQxba5

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) April 12, 2026

Garcia handled that with as much class as he showed on the second tee box. He should have offered a sincere apology for his actions. Instead he seemed bothered to be even asked about it.

Sergio Garcia’s actions led to fans asking for him to be banned from the tournament

Garcia won the 2017 Masters, which means he gets to come back and play in the tournament for the rest of his life. Being in that exclusive group should come with a lot more respect for the event, but Garcia didn’t carry himself like that during the moment or after the round.

Lots of fans were quick to call him out and some thought the Masters should consider banning him from future tournaments.

ESPN’s Mike Greenberg was one of those fans, as he tweeted: “A lifetime exemption is a privilege extended by Augusta to its champions out of respect. If that respect is not reciprocated, there is no law that says a past champ cannot be banned. I’m not sure they should have Sergio Garcia back after the garbage he pulled today.”

Garcia probably won’t face that type of punishment. But he should take some time to reflect on his behavior on Sunday and realize he got everything way wrong.

As for the golf, Garcia finished the Masters in 52nd place, better than just two other players who made the cut.

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