Tiger Woods has been accused of “lacking character” as his war of words with Sergio Garcia at the Players Championship shows no signs of abating.
Paired together at Sawgrass in a third round played over two days due to bad weather, it took less than two holes for tensions to come to the surface, with Garcia feeling he was put off on his approach to the second by crowd noise caused by Woods preparing for his own shot from the trees.
Woods insisted he had been told by marshals that Garcia had already played before pulling a fairway wood from his bag, with the fans cheering the indication that the world number one would attempt to go for the green on the par five.
However, two marshals have denied that was the case, with Sports Illustrated quoting Gary Anderson as saying: “He didn’t ask us nothing, and we didn’t say nothing. We’re told not to talk to the players.”
John North was the chief marshal for the first three holes and is also quoted by Sports Illustrated as saying: “Nothing was said to us and we certainly said nothing to him.
“I was disappointed to hear him make those remarks. We’re there to help the players and enhance the experience of the fans. He was saying what was good for him. It lacked character.”
Woods went on to make a birdie on that hole and win the tournament, while Garcia made a bogey six and saw his hopes of the title disappear in the final round when he hit two balls into the water on the 17th.
