Sergio Garcia’s meltdown on Saturday at the Saudi International, where reportedly he intentionally damaged as many as five greens, not only earned him a disqualification from the tournament, but has drawn the ire of fellow players. That includes Brooks Koepka.
Appearing on the Playing Through podcast on Tuesday (of which your author is a co-host of), Koepka didn’t hold back when asked about Garcia’s antics, which also included a violent thrashing of a bunker at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City.
“Ugh, it’s frustrating as a player to see, to act like that, to disrespect everybody,” said Koepka, who was playing two groups in front of the former Masters champion but didn’t know what happened until afterward. “To act like a child out there is not cool. It’s not setting a good example and it’s not cool to us, showing us no respect or anybody else.”
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Garcia later issued an apology, and European Tour chief Keith Pelley considered the matter closed with the organization issuing no further discipline.
When Koepka was asked if there were any issues with the course that might have led to the outburst, he said no. He also expressed his disappointment in the 39-year-old Spaniard.
“Dustin [Johnson] didn’t have a problem with it,” he said.
Johnson went on to win the event, while Koepka tied for 57th.
“That’s just Sergio acting like a child,” Koepka continued. “It’s unfortunate that he’s got to do that and complain. Everybody’s got to play the same golf course. I didn’t play very good, but you didn’t really see anybody else doing that. You’re 40 years old so you gotta grow up eventually.”
To listen to the rest of the interview with Koepka, including his take on golf’s new rules, wearing a thong and defending his PGA Championship and more, click here.