Sure, they played along for the cameras, Woods jokingly signing a hat for Garcia and the Spaniard jumping for joy like an excited fan. But at a meaningless made-for-TV match in - the Battle at Bighorn - Garcia punched the air after beating Woods, leaving him visibly angered.
Garcia - who suggested officials would have stopped play for Woods while others had to carry on during rain early in the week - said he was still reeling from the heartbreak of being dumped by Greg Norman's daughter, Morgan-Leigh. But it was Woods who then chewed up his heart and spat it out memorably four years later at the Open. Wearing an all-yellow ensemble on the final day, Garcia was again forced to watch as his playing partner won his third Claret Jug. It prompted Tiger to remark as he sat on his private jet home: "I just bludgeoned Tweetie Pie.
At that year's Ryder Cup, Garcia said he wanted a piece of his nemesis because "fortunately he doesn't have a great record" in the event. Garcia claimed Woods' decision to take a club out of his bag - prompting the crowd to whoop - made him hit a bad shot. Woods refused to patch things up, leading Garcia to say: "He called me a whiner. He's probably right. Woods will see Garcia the way he has all along—talent gone unrealized. Garcia will view Woods as he always has—a jerk with a rotten disposition.
Sergio wasn't up to the task a decade ago, and Tiger moved on. Woods is the quiet assassin on the golf course who sees opponents as roadblocks to his ultimate goal. He has unbelievable expectations to live up to, and he assesses accomplishments in black and white: Winning is everything, and second place is first loser.
That is not to say Garcia doesn't want to win, just that he is more of a golf artist. He appreciates the beauty of the game and the artistry of shot-making as much as any player since his idol and fellow countryman, Seve Ballesteros.
Because of that, it can be suggested he sees other golfers as equals in a competition that should be enjoyed. Those dueling characteristics mixed with competitive fire this past week and took the Sergio-Tiger feud from the shadows into the light.
And frankly, it was a long time coming. Now, the question is whether a decade-plus of experience and another devastating setback suffered at the hands of his rival will change things for Garcia.
Will Sergio continue to play the victim, or will he use motivation to put his game where his mouth is? Enjoy our content?
Join our newsletter to get the latest in sports news delivered straight to your inbox! Jason Whitlock WhitlockJason My column on the wussification of sports. Your sports. Here's a photo from the night more below :. The made-for-TV event came in the middle of Tiger's epic run of dominance. He had won four of the previous five majors, and eight events total that year. Sergio had yet to win a PGA Tour event in his career at the time, so Bighorn was the biggest win of his life. Tiger also won the WGC-Bridgestone in Ohio the night before by 11 strokes, and was tired and battling a cold.
That incident started the ball rolling. And the feud picked up steam with a couple of incidents over the years:.
In , Sergio complained that play should have been stopped during a rain storm in the second round, saying they would have stopped it if Tiger was on the course. In , Sergio Garcia taunted Tiger before the Ryder Cup , saying, " Fortunately for us, [Woods] doesn't have a great Ryder Cup record, so I'm looking forward to hopefully going out there and meeting him two or three times.
And it all came to the forefront last weekend when Sergio blamed a bad shot on Tiger and explicitly said they don't like each other.
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