Sergio Garcia was in a tough spot in the Wednesday opening match of the 2018 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.
Playing against India's Shubankhar Sharma at host Austin Country Club in Texas, Garcia's 384-yard tee shot required a free drop. Perhaps preferring the lie he would get off asphalt compared to the trampled down turf around it, the Masters champion went ahead and chose to drop on the cart path. That left him a 219-yard shot into the par 5.
From there, Garcia decided it was wisest to remove his shoes. The thinking was probably he would be closer to the ground in his socks compared to being too high off the ball in spiked shoes, which wouldn't dig into the asphalt. So, shoeless Garcia steps up in his spikes and gets to the fringe of the green in two with an impressive shot.
Then, right after that, Garcia turns to a marshal and police officer and asks to have a fan removed from his gallery. Sure enough, the officer goes to the offending fan, who puts his arm around the officer, and starts walking him from Garcia's presence.
Shoes off, cart path....and wait for it....ejects a fan. Typical Garcia. pic.twitter.com/rX14zt0KPb
— ShutFaceGolf (@ShutFaceGolf) March 21, 2018
That's one heck of a two-fer for Garcia, who is making his first PGA Tour start since becoming a father last week when wife Angela Akins Garcia gave birth to their daughter, Azalea.