YIKES: Sergio Garcia Makes Controversial Remark About COVID-19

The PGA TOUR started off with a bang two weeks ago when they returned to action without a hitch. But now the story is shifting to the players and caddies who have tested positive for COVID-19. And one player made a very interesting remark about it.

If you’ve been watching golf as long as I have, you know that Sergio Garcia is someone who isn’t afraid to bring his emotions and thoughts into the game. Often times, Sergio is criticized for some of the things he says off the cuff and this situation is no different. Nick Watney was the first player to test positive for the virus and Garcia seems to think that someone else deserved to have it more than him.

“My first reaction was I was surprised. I felt terrible for Nick because he’s probably one of the nicest guys on Tour,” Garcia said in an interview following Watney’s positive test. “Unfortunately, it had to happen to him. There’s a lot of other people that probably deserved it a lot more than him, and he’s the one that got it.”

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It seems like Sergio’s intention here was to show sympathy for Watney, one of his better friends on the PGA TOUR but the comment that caught everyone else’s attention was that he implied that other players deserved it more. That led many to ask if not Watney, who deserved to test positive for the disease? Sergio hasn’t really answered that question and doesn’t seem willing to any time soon.

Since those comments by Garcia were made, a few other caddies have tested positive for COVID-19, mainly Brooks Koepka’s and Graeme McDowell’s caddies. Both players have withdrawn from the event as a precaution. Garcia hasn’t commented on those cases either and many are now wondering if Sergio also thinks they deserve that or not.

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Overall, I think Garcia meant well with his comments but really chose the wrong way to present his sorrow for Watney’s diagnosis. From here on out, it might be smarter for Sergio if he keeps these types of thoughts to himself instead of causing a firestorm.

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