
Just when you think Sergio Garcia has maybe matured (or at least dare bowing up to Tiger Woods), he sticks his big 'ol foot down his throat. His long feud with Woods escalated the last few weeks when Garcia thought Tiger grandstanded pulling a wood while Garcia was in mid swing at the Players Championship.
Yesterday at a European Tour black tie event, Garcia was asked in jest by GolfChannel's Steve Sands if "he would invite Tiger Woods to dinner at the U.S. Open."
Garcia: "We will have him round every night. We will serve fried chicken."
Uh oh.
At the very least it wasn't funny. At the very worst it was idiotic and ignorant with possible racial overtones. Like the living ghost of Fuzzy Zoeller was channeling thru El Nino.
With his PR firm in full damage control, Garcia apologized...
“I apologize for any offense that may have been caused by my comment on stage during the European Tour Players’ Awards dinner. I answered a question that was clearly made towards me as a joke with a silly remark, but in no way was the comment meant in a racist manner.”
Garcia's club manufacturer TaylorMade put this out:
"Sergio Garcia’s recent comment was offensive & in no way aligns with TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s values & corporate culture."
In the meantime, Woods offered up responses via his Twitter account.
"The comment that was made wasn't silly. It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate."
"I'm confident that there is real regret the comment was made."
The Players ended two weeks ago and it's long past time to move on and talk about golf."
This morning, Garcia met the firing squad for about 7 minutes at the BMW PGA Championship to expand on his apology.
"I was caught off-guard by the question, but don't get me wrong. My answer was totally stupid and out of place."
He also said that he'd never heard Zoeller's "fried chicken" comment at the '98 Masters--one that cost Zoeller several endorsement deals (Garcia was 17 at the time).
There's no way Jack Nicklaus allows the two to be paired in the first two rounds at Memorial next week...does he? Either way, Garcia better expect less than a heartfelt welcome by the Memorial gallery--and for a guy with thin skin that should be an interesting watch how he reacts and plays.