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LIV Golf has done more than just disrupt the status quo of golf – it also seems to have created a wedge between old friends.
Twenty-three-time PGA Tour winner Rory McIlroy was blunt at a press conference during the Hero Dubai Desert Classic last month when asked if he felt the need to repair his relationship with former Ryder Cup teammate Sergio Garcia amid the possibility that the Spaniard could still make the team in 2023.
Sergio Garcia, right, and Rory McIlroy celebrate victory during the morning fourball matches of the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National on Sept. 29, 2018 in Paris. (Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
“No,” he responded sharply.
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McIlroy has not shied away from making public remarks about PGA Tour defectors, saying in October that “it is the first time in my life that I have felt betrayal.”
The feeling is mutual with Garcia saying this week that the blame for his fractured relationship with McIlroy falls on him.
Rory McIlroy, left, talks with Sergio Garcia on the 12th tee during a practice round prior to the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club on Aug. 8, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
“I think it is very sad,” Garcia told The Telegraph Thursday. “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.”
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“Rory’s got his own life, and he makes his own choices, the same way that I make mine. I respect his choice, but it seems like he doesn’t respect the ones I make. So a one-way street,” he continued.
Garcia and McIlroy have been longtime friends both on and off the course, with McIlroy even being a groomsman in his wedding in 2017. Garcia told the outlet that while he is not opposed to a reconciliation, he doubts McIlroy is interested in one.
Rory McIlroy, left, talks to Sergio Garcia during the first round of THE PLAYERS Championship on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 11, 2021 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
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“Sure, I don’t have a problem with him. He’s the one that has a problem,” he said. “So if he wants to reconcile, then I’m willing to talk, but I’m not sure he’ll put himself down to that level.”
Garcia is the all-time Ryder Cup points leader meaning his absence from this year’s tournament could spell trouble for Team Europe, regardless of anyone’s feelings about his current tour.
