The 113th U.S. Open begins on Thursday, June 13th from Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania and while 156 golfers finalize their tournament preparations heading into opening round tee times, talks concerning the ongoing feud between Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia continue to grab the attention of sports fans everywhere. Three weeks ago, Garcia was asked by a reporter if he would be interested in having dinner with Tiger at the U.S. Open and responding with what he thought would come off as harmless humor, Garcia instead took a jab at Woods with a racist reply.
"We'll have him 'round every night," Garcia said. "We will serve fried chicken." Not happy about hearing the comments from his competitor, Woods voiced his displeasure, saying that the comments were not at all humorous but rather hurtful and extremely inappropriate.
Earlier this season, Woods and Garcia added another chapter to their rocky relationship while playing in the same group at the Masters Championship. With Garcia in the fairway about to hit his approach shot during the tournaments third round, Tiger Woods - standing some 40 yards away in the trees - pulled a club from his bag during Garcia's backswing. The crowd reacted with enthusiasm as TW prepared to hit his ball and the loud fan reaction caught Garcia in his backswing. Misfiring on his shot, Garcia wasn't happy with his opponents thought process.
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"You have to pay attention to what's going on because the other guy is hitting," Garcia said to ESPN television. "You do something when you're in the crowd and the crowd is going to respond." Woods promptly denied any intentional wrongdoing, noting that he was given the okay to prepare for his upcoming shot but another piece to their continued distaste for one another had already been etched in stone.
While the situation from the Masters has fallen by the wayside since the comments Garcia dropped last month, the fact that Sergio Garcia has still not offered a formal verbal apology face-to-face with Tiger Woods still grabs the attention of golf fans. Preparing for the upcoming major championship, both players shook hands Monday on the driving range but when asked if any apology came from Garcia, Woods noted that the situation was not discussed while mentioning that he is eager to move away from the remarks made.
"No, we didn't discuss anything," Woods said at his press conference at Merion Golf Club. "Just came up and said, 'Hi,' and that was it. It's already done. We've already gone through it all. It's time for the U.S. Open and we tee it up in two days."
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In an attempt to officially apologize and finally put this issue to rest, the USA Today reports that Sergio Garcia left the World No. 1 golfer a note at his locker at some point during Tuesday's Open preparations. This gesture by Garcia is an indication that he does indeed want to send his regrets and the 33-year-old indicated that he hopes to speak with Tiger one-on-one when the appropriate time comes.
"Hopefully he can take a look at it and it's a big week and I understand that it's difficult to meet up and stuff," Garcia said to reporters. "So hopefully I'll be able to do it. If not, at least he has read the note and he's happy with that."
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Garcia begins his U.S. Open title quest Thursday at 7:44am, EDT. Playing alongside Stewart Cink and Padraid Harrington to start the tournament, Garcia hopes to be in contention throughout the tournament as he looks for his first major championship.
While Garcia aims for major No. 1, Tiger Woods aims for No. 15. Having not won a major since the 2008 U.S. Open, Tiger Woods will be the favorite when he begins his title run Thursday afternoon. Grouped with Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy, the 1:14pm, EDT tee time may be the most entertaining trio to watch.
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