Sergio Garcia A "Sore Loser" According To Paddy Harrington
There’s no confusion among any of us that at one point Sergio Garcia was a huge little bitch. He cried and moaned and lost and made fried chicken jokes about Tiger. He spit in holes, blamed crowds and flagsticks, lost, and blamed people pulling clubs in his backswing.
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He sucked. He was a little bitch. And it all worked perfectly into the “fuck Sergio Garcia” narrative for us because: 1) he continually choked on the biggest stages; 2) he was a Euro Ryder Cupper. Fuck Europe in the Ryder Cup.
It’s in relation to all of that that we’re now getting some new quotes from Paddy Harrington. Sergio and Paddy went at it in both a British Open playoff in 2007, and down the stretch in the 2008 PGA Championship (both won by Harrington).
In a new interview this week talking about that whiny Sergio Garcia, Paddy had these things to say:
Spoke with “Game On,” but reported by Golf Channel:
“His is a very flamboyant game, everything comes easy. There were periods he never practiced,” Harrington said. “I worked at it, grinded it out, got the best of it. I’m very strong with the etiquette of the game, so I don’t tolerate people spitting in the hole, throwing their shoes or throwing golf clubs. That would be my attitude, and that would be quite clear from where I came from.”
Harrington specifically pointed to the playoff 10 years ago at Carnoustie as a tipping point, where Garcia missed a par putt to win on the 72nd hole and Harrington went on to claim his first of three major titles.
“I gave him every out I possibly could at the 2007 Open. I was as polite as I could, and as generous as I could be,” Harrington said. “But he was a very sore loser, and he continued to be a very sore loser. So clearly after that, we had a very sticky wicket I’d say. The Ryder Cup obviously improved it to no end. But look, we say hello to each other every day we meet, but it’s with gritted teeth, there’s no doubt about it.”
Pretty harsh words for Sergio. Paddy fucking hated him. But honestly this all adds to the reasons now that I was pulling for him down the stretch this past Sunday. I never expected to like Sergio. I never expected to root for Sergio. I never expected to be disappointed when he missed a short ass putt on the 72nd hole to win golf’s biggest prize.
But I was. I’m an absolute SUCKER for a nice redemption story. Honestly, who hasn’t been a sore loser before? Who hasn’t suffered a crushing defeat and said something they typically never would? Who hasn’t slammed a club and 30 seconds later felt embarrassed about it?
It’s human. Yeah Sergio was — to a significantly further extent than most of us, and than most Tour pros — a little bitch, and that’s why we hated him. But fuck me he looked cool, calm, and collected as shit on Sunday. It was impressive.
Who woulda thought he’d come back from this…
…to birdie the playoff hole and win the Masters? Hell of a tale of a guy going from a little bitch to a calm, mentally tough, persistent champion. Good on Sergio.