Rory McIlroy & Sergio Garcia: Their Love-Hate Relationship Over the Years Explored

“I gained a friend back.” Sergio Garcia said these words at the 2023 US Open presser as he and Rory McIlroy patched up after months of dispute over LIV Golf and the PGAT division. Garcia also added about McIlroy, “a friend that I kind of felt like I lost in the last year or so.”

But the war between Garcia and McIlroy was far from coming to an end. And now McIlroy has now once again clapped at his former friend! Let’s take a look at the patched yet strained friendship between Garcia and McIlroy.

The ups and downs of Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia’s friendship

In the past, Sergio García and Rory McIlroy have raised the level of Europe on the golf map. On the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, the Irishman and the Spaniard used to share great friendships. The two were so close that McIlroy even served as a groomsman at Garcia’s wedding to Angela. But it went down the drain, around two years ago after Garcia chose to defect to the other side.

Hurt and offended, McIlroy broke all ties with him. Then, in December 2022, after winning the RBC Canadian Open, he said that the defectors had taken the “easy way out“. Following that Garcia shot him a text telling him to “shut up about LIV, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah” McIlroy revealed that he was offended and sent back some criticism of his own.

Following that McIlroy went on to say that their friendship could not be rekindled. However, McIlroy softened later and reached out to Angela Garcia. The wives of both golfers shared greetings at the 2023 US Open, and later, McIlroy texted Angela. It encouraged the 2017 Augusta winner to reach out to the 4x major champion.

But once again, things got haphazard at the start of this year. At the beginning of January, Rory McIlroy gave a long interview in which he accepted LIV as a part of golf. However, he also expressed the desire to see LIV turn into the “IPL of Golf,” where they only play for 1–2 months and could demonstrate the team format of the sport.

A few days later, replying to this, Garcia said, “I don’t think we want to be important for one month. We all deserve more than that.” And now, once again, the Irish golfer was irked by this statement and had a reply of his own.

What McIlroy had to say after Garcia’s demand for more exposure

This week, McIlroy is participating in the Dubai Desert Classic, where he was informed about Garcia’s statement. Upon hearing this, he had a harsh response for his old friend and said, “Yeah, Sergio feels he deserves a lot of things. Again, it’s trying to align interests, and I think right now it’s just very, very hard to align everyone’s interests in the game.” The four-time major winner is not amused by the Spaniard’s big demands.

Also Read: After Rory McIlroy’s Change of Heart, LIV Golf Pro Returns Favor With Grand ‘World Tour’ Plans

Despite their mutual makeup last year, relations between the two European golfers don’t seem to have improved. However, the impending merger that is due in April can change a lot. Can it change their equation too? Stay tuned to find out!

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