Garcia Chalks up Outburst to Being an Emotional Player

Sergio Garcia issued the following apology on his Instagram account on Tuesday:

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Happy to be in my first @pgatour event of the season and have my brother on the bag again this year. I’ve obviously had some time to reflect, and want to again say I’m sorry to my fans and fellow competitors. What happened is not an example I want to set, and it's not who I truly am. I am an emotional player and while I believe that's one of my biggest strengths, it's also one of my biggest flaws. I’m focused on working hard to channel that emotion the correct way and to be the best me, learn from it and move forward. Thanks for all the support. // Feliz de estar en mi primer torneo del PGA Tour y tener mi hermano como caddie de nuevo este año. He tenido tiempo para reflexionar y quiero pedir disculpas a los aficionados y a mis compañeros. Lo ocurrido no es un ejemplo de lo que quiero ser y no transmite lo que verdaderamente soy. Soy un jugador pasional y al mismo tiempo que es uno de mis puntos fuertes, también es, a veces, mi punto débil. Estoy centrado en reconducir esas emociones, en aprender y mostrar lo mejor de mi. Gracias por todo vuestro apoyo.

A post shared by Sergio Garcia (@thesergiogarcia) on Feb 12, 2019 at 11:02am PST

I respect the apology. It feels a bit crafted and not particularly from the heart but it is what it needed to be. I'm sure that Garcia is significantly embarrassed by how he handled himself on the course. I'm sure he's also aware that he's very lucky to have suffered little more than embarrassment and a DQ from a tournament that he wasn't likely to earn much from anyway. As of this writing, he hasn't lost anything more than his pride and probably some fans. His sponsors have stood by him and the sanctioning bodies are not particularly empowered to do more than what they've already done.

Let's hope that whatever the real root of this emotional meltdown was that Garcia finds a healthier way to deal with it in the very near future. Golf is better off with a healthy and successful Sergio Garcia in the field.