Sergio Garcia on repairing Rory McIlroy feud? "I wish it hadn't taken so long"

Sergio Garcia says he wishes it didn't take so long to repair his relationship with Rory McIlroy after the pair fell out over LIV Golf.

Ben Smith

09 Jul 2023

Sergio Garcia on repairing Rory McIlroy feud? "I wish it hadn't taken so long" — Sergio Garcia on repairing Rory McIlroy feud? "I wish it hadn't taken so…

Sergio Garcia says he wishes 'it hadn't taken so long' to repair his friendship with Rory McIlroy after the pair fell out over LIV Golf.

In an interview with Tom Kershaw of The Times of London, the Spaniard revealed he talked to McIlroy in the same week he withdrew from the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth without an explanation.

That tournament was played in the same week Queen Elizabeth II died on 8 September 2022 aged 96.

The Spanish pro, now 43, was later pictured grinning ear to ear at a college football game in the United States.

It was a decision that meant Garcia, not for the first time, was fined heavily by his home circuit.

Fast-forward to July 2023 and it appears that all is forgotten, at least for Garcia and McIlroy.

| Sergio Garcia has revealed he has buried the hatchet with Rory McIlroy after the pair fell out over the emergence of LIV Golf.
"I got my friend back," Garcia told reporters at Valderrama. pic.twitter.com/KJFh3OxYoE
— GolfMagic (@GolfMagic) June 28, 2023

McIlroy, 33, made a gesture that he would call Garcia as the pair crossed paths during the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.

After a little help from their wives, the pair were on their way to recovering a friendship that led to McIlroy being a groomsman at Garcia's wedding to Angela Akins the same year he won the Masters.

Garcia told Kershaw:

"It was very important to me and, I think, for Rory too. It felt like there was this little hole left and we were both a bit sorry for everything that happened. I'm very happy with where we're headed now and the relationships we are getting back. I just wish it hadn't taken so long to get here."

Garcia also addressed the time he was described as flying into a fit of rage in Germany when his initial fine for playing the inaugural LIV Golf event at Centurion Club last June was handed down.

Scotland's Bob MacIntyre is said to have witnessed that anger on full display.

Amazing how fast you can lose respect for someone that you’ve looked up to all your life #10secondrant #wecanhearyou
— Robert MacIntyre (@robert1lefty) June 25, 2022

"Amazing how fast you can lost respect for someone that you've looked up to all your life," MacIntyre later posted on social media.

Garcia said of this moment:

"I obviously did talk to some of the players and I said 'You've got to be careful because I don't think the Tour is going in the right direction.

"They had the possibility to do [a deal with LIV] and unfortunately they took a different path and it did feel like they were kind of giving up on their fight against the PGA Tour.

"It was a very emotional week for me. I felt like it might be my last European tour event because of the way things were going, and I was very sad and upset."

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Garcia also revealed he has had, unsurprisingly, strong support behind-the-scenes from Jon Rahm.

Rahm has stayed away from criticising the breakaway, despite not being a fan of the shotgun start, 54-hole event format.

"It's not a proper golf tournament," Rahm said before the 2022 Genesis Invitational on the PGA Tour as the rumour mill gathered pace.

Garcia added:

"I spoke to him many times and he said 'Sergio, you've played for 25 years, you've given more than half your life to both tours, and you're in a position to do what's best for you. Who am I to judge? You're not hurting anyone.'"

Garcia also stated he was keen on future Ryder Cup involvement. "After the last few weeks, I think we're now all in a much better place," he said.

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