Tiger Woods has struck back at an off-color comment by rival golfer Sergio Garcia.
Garcia on Tuesday night at the European Tour’s gala players’ awards dinner was asked whether he’d invite Tiger over for dinner during the upcoming U.S. Open. Garcia responded:
We will have him round every night. We will serve fried chicken.
Tiger lashed back today on Twitter:
The comment that was made wasn’t silly. It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate…
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) May 22, 2013
I’m confident that there is real regret that the remark was made.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) May 22, 2013
The Players ended nearly two weeks ago and it’s long past time to move on and talk about golf.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) May 22, 2013
Garcia held a press conference this morning apologizing for his remarks of Tiger Woods: “I want to send an unreserved apology,” and that he “didn’t mean to offend anyone.” He says that he was “out of place” in answering the way he did and wants to “most importantly apologize to Tiger and anyone else who he could have offended.”
“It wasn’t mean to be a racist comment…as soon as I left the dinner I had a sick feeling in my body.” Garcia also says that he could not sleep last night. He’s not pulling out of the BMW Championship at Wentworth this week which starts tomorrow.
The feud between Woods and Garcia on August 28th, 2000 after Garcia did a end-zone dance after he beat Woods in an 18-hole, called the Battle of Bighorn. Before Woods even lost he began feeling defeated and added him to his list of 80 Things I Need To Crush Before I Die list, even though Garcia was nowhere near a threat to Woods’ career because this face-off was in the middle of Woods best season ever. According to John Hawkins for golfchannel.com, Garcia approached him on the practice green and asked “Why is it always about him?” But after much bantering and Hawkins trying to explain, Garcia broke out into laughter and said “I got you!”