Sergio Garcia last night hit back at Nick Faldo after the former Ryder Cup captain accused the Spaniard of being “useless and having a bad attitude” in the 2008 tournament.
Faldo, commentating on the Golf Channel, praised Garcia’s overall record in the Ryder Cup, but said he was “half a point and useless” in Europe’s 2008 defeat by the United States at Valhalla.
When asked for his reaction after his foursomes match, Garcia, who actually won Europe a full point in that tournament, said: “Are you sure you didn’t misquote him? That’s unfortunate.
“I guess he doesn’t feel European. That’s the only thing I can think of. There are a lot of things I could say about Nick Faldo, but I’m not going to put myself down to his level.”
Team-mates Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy leapt to Garcia’s defence, with the world No1 hugging him and saying “Aw, you are not useless”.
McIlroy was speaking from personal experience after Garcia played a magical 5-wood second shot from thick rough on the 18th hole to salvage a face-saving halve for the pair against Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker.
McDowell with more than a hint of sarcasm, added: “I’ll make a comment on that. You’ve got one of the best Ryder Cup pairings of all time being sat down on a Saturday afternoon of a Ryder Cup (in 2008 when Faldo benched Garcia and Westwood) and we go on to lose.
“Yeah, I’d say Sergio was fairly useless that afternoon, because he wasn’t allowed to play. So, I agree with Nick.”