- [Narrator] Every individual athlete you might call the greatest leaves in their wake a
gaggle of also-rans. Tiger Woods claims plenty such victims, golfers who would have
won more major titles, earned more money and spent more time
atop the world rankings if not for one man dominating an era roughly encompassing the 2000s plus a few years before and after. Here are some of the
biggest names in that group who all have something
important in common. Because they are older than Tiger and/or because they got
hot at the right moments each of these greats
counts among those golfers who won major titles during Woods' era of unprecedented excellence. Nobody was better than Tiger in his prime, but at least some guys got
to take something with them. Sergio Garcia is and will
forever be a different story: younger, less victorious,
exceptionally irritable and exceptionally irritating. More so than any of those other golfers, Garcia's promising golf career got buried under that of Tiger Woods. That indignity fermented
into hot stinky beef. (gentle music) Our story begins in 1999, when Spanish prodigy Sergio Garcia joined the PGA Tour at just 19 years old. Tiger Woods had turned
pro only three years prior but he was already hot shit. Already the youngest player
ever to win the Masters in 1997, already the fastest ever to achieve a number one PGA Tour ranking. After kind of a quiet stretch
following his blazing debut, Tiger entered the final round of the '99 PGA Championship poised to win his second
major, tied for the lead to open the Sunday session
in Medinah, Illinois. The group nipping at Tiger's heels included none other than
that brand new teenager. Garcia played an a exceptional first round and recovered from an iffy second round to pull within two strokes of the lead at the conclusion of play Saturday. Near the end of the final round, the two youngsters stood
well ahead of the pack. And after birdying the 13th hole, Garcia glare back toward
Tiger standing at the tee. It was on, with Garcia trailing
Wood's by just one stroke. On 16, Garcia needed a miracle to stay within striking
distance of Woods. Sergio was in a pickle, which
is to say behind a tree. But with this genuine no-look shot, Garcia saved himself to make par and leapt into the air
watching his Hail Mary find the green. - [Commentator] Oh my goodness,
he hit it on the green. - These were big, brash
moments for the kid, stealing the spotlight
from golf's new superstar. Could Sergio steal a victory as well? Nope. Tiger held on to win
his first PGA Championship and second career major. Short of the stunning victory, Sergio was left to answer for his antics which Tiger reportedly did not enjoy. Defending his staredown on 13, Garcia said he wasn't
trying to do anything bad, he wasn't wishing ill on Tiger he was just issuing a challenge. And he took the opportunity
to issue another. Looking ahead to the
following month's Ryder Cup, which pits the best American golfers against the best of
Europe, Garcia said simply, "I want to play Tiger." Garcia identified, correctly, that Tiger wasn't quite the
same force in a group context, whereas Sergio would go
on to distinguish himself in team events. And while the US took home
the '99 Ryder Cup trophy, Garcia did outplay Woods in
the Friday morning foursomes. A nice little rivalry was forming. Sergio represented a plucky
but friendly challenger to the throne of golf's next big star. A clip from around this
era shows both guys playing with the tension in the air. Tiger playfully treating
Sergio like a huge celebrity, Sergio returning the favor by
asking a peer to sign his hat. - Can you sign me mine?
- Hell no. - Can you sign?
- yeah, thanks buddy, I'll sign it. - [Narrator] As it
happened, Tiger's agency, IMG, had just cooked up a perfect
showcase for this new rivalry. "Monday Night Golf," a series of nationally
televised match play events pitting Tiger against a challenger with cash prizes and
charitable donations at stake. Garcia made an obvious challenger
for the second such event and both parties agreed to
face off on August 28th, 2000 in Palm Desert, California. It was dubbed the Battle at Bighorn with nothing at stake but
cash, pride and attention. Now, even though this
whole thing was arranged and approved by Tiger and his people, it wasn't necessarily
front of mind for the star. At the time, Tiger was
on a monumental streak: three consecutive major victories dating back to that '99 PGA Championship. And he'd won a tournament in Ohio literally the night before
the Battle at Bighorn. And Woods was not only focused on, and exhausted from those
more meaningful events but suffering flu-like symptoms, Match play for charity
just wasn't his priority. The dude was busy making
history and he felt like shit. Well, the 20 year old Sergio Garcia beat Woods straight up head
to head on ABC primetime. Tiger was courteous in the
moment, but reportedly annoyed at Sergio's enthusiastic celebrations. This doesn't look egregious to my eye but people who know golf better than I do, seem to side with Tiger, especially given the context of a silly made for TV exhibition. Anyway, Woods had more
important stuff to worry about, like winning a fourth
straight major, the '01 Masters, to cement the so-called Tiger Slam, and then winning a seventh
major title at the '02 Masters. While Woods planted his flag ever deeper, Sergio continued to fall short and continued to receive more attention for his antics than his play, complaining and making
a scene on the course. All of this came to ahead at the 2002 US Open at Bethpage Black in New York. Woods was leading the pack and enjoying the favor of the fans, while Garcia, the best
performing non-American player, got fed up with what he perceived as special treatment for the favorite. Specifically, Tiger had
played through some light rain during the Friday morning session, while Sergio, playing later in the day, had to battle much wetter
and windier conditions. It's not that Garcia expected
Mother Nature to play fair but he believed tournament officials would have suspended play if Tiger was the one on the course for that blustery afternoon. Sergio complaining made
for a boisterous weekend with rowdy crowds heckling Garcia, including during a Sunday morning session in which he was paired with Tiger. It got annoying enough that Sergio actually
left a note of apology in Tiger's locker before that final round. Amid all the excitement, Woods pulled away to win his eighth major, although not without some shaky moments. After the fact, the second
place finishing Garcia said Tiger showed he was human
and looked ahead to a day when he might be able
to seize those chances and become US Open Champion. That day would not come, at least not while Tiger was involved. There were chances though. A few of those guys I mentioned at the top claimed majors during this era because Tiger hit a drought
through 2003 and 2004. Sergio spent that stretch
rebuilding his swing and dreaming aloud about
getting another shot to play in a final group with Tiger but it didn't pan out the way he wanted. This was the period when tiptop
Sergio could have claimed some big meaningful victories, more than just the made for TV stuff. Instead, Garcia either fell short or whiffed entirely in major events and the rivalry lost steam. Before long, Tiger got back in a groove, back to number one on Earth. In 2005, he won his fourth Masters and then a couple months
later, his 10th major, the '05 British Open. One year later, Tiger
was at Royal Liverpool looking to defend that title. And he entered the final
round with a trio of golfers, including Garcia, trailing
him by just a stroke. Here, at last, was another chance for Sergio to snatch a major victory away from the world's greatest and right in front of him too. They were paired together
for the final round. On the morning of the potential
biggest day of his career, Garcia showed up wearing this Dressed like a Peep from head to toe, Sergio delivered his
worst round of the Open. Tiger cruised to victory over
Garcia and the rest of them, and then, in a private text message to a friend reported later, issued one of the first real signs that he took special
pleasure in beating Garcia, the guy who'd annoyed him years prior. Quote, "I just bludgeoned Tweety Bird." Garcia reverted to his usual "well, see you at the Ryder Cup" tack and as usual held the
upper hand in that context, but that's hardly consolation for squandering another major
head-to-head opportunity while dressed fully in butter yellow. And so it remained. Over the next couple years, Tiger kept racking up majors, while Sergio claimed nary a chance to steal one at his expense, wasted opportunities to
win one at all, and stewed. The two played together at the Bridgestone Invitational in 2009, and Garcia couldn't resist the chance to give Woods a backhanded compliment. Tiger, of course, went on
to win that tournament and then issued a searingly plain summary of Garcia's career. You'd have thought he'd
have a major win by now, he had his chances. That pattern -- Garcia prodding as the chasm between them widened, and Woods kind of dismissing
Garcia's entire existence -- is the tone of this
relationship for like 10 years. There were whispers
that somewhere in there, behind closed doors,
the two men got into it. Maybe even almost fought each other. Long time Woods caddy and
noted beefer Steve Williams, carefully mentioned that
Sergio and Tiger "have had words." But if so, it was all beneath the surface. The golf world smelled beef, they heard the faint squish of beef, but they hadn't really seen it. Not on the course and hardly off of it. But then in May of 2013, Woods and Garcia were paired together for
the third round at Sawgrass. On the second hole, Garcia
hit a shot he didn't like, and immediately reacted as
if someone else was to blame. Reporters noted and even icier atmosphere than usual as the round proceeded. Later on, interviewed
during a weather delay, Garcia pointed a finger. - He didn't see that I was ready, but you do have a feel when
the other guy's gonna hit in. Right as I was on top of the back swing, I think he must he pulled like a five wood or a three wood out of the rough. And obviously everybody started screaming so that didn't help very much - [Narrator] To be
clear, Sergio is arguing that at the exact moment
he took his backswing, Tiger, standing not too far away, selected a club from his bag, thus provoking a reaction
from the crowd following him. Garcia said Woods should have known better than to create such a distraction. Apprised of this accusation, Tiger explained his actions
and called Sergio a whiner. - The marshals, they told
me he had already hit. So I pulled the club and was getting ready to play my shot, and then I hear his comments afterwards and not real surprising, that he's complaining about something. - [Narrator] Sergio suggested
golfers were responsible for handling their home
fans, especially Tiger. - It happens to me when I'm in Spain, you know, obviously happens
to him everywhere he goes, he gets a lot of people following. And I think you have to be very careful because there's another guy playing and sometimes you
have to pay attention to what's going on because
if the other guy's hitting and you do something
when you're in the crowd, the crowd is gonna respond and you know it's gonna
affect the other player. - [Narrator] And then he sort of implied that Tiger was lying. - At least I'm true to myself, you know, I know what I'm doing. And you know, he can do whatever he wants. - [Narrator] The course marshals split on whether Tiger was innocent and you better believe fans Zaprudered the hell out of that TV footage. But more important for our purposes, was a beef now in the open. Garcia went on record saying
he didn't really like Tiger and didn't enjoy playing with him. Woods won at Sawgrass, but reporters kept harping
on that third round for weeks to come which produced one of the best
one word answers of all time. - [Interviewer] Has there
ever been any thought of just contacting him and just saying, hey, let's chill we don't need
to be going back and forth like this anymore? - No. (audience laughing) - [Narrator] So there was beef, but Tiger didn't really
wanna talk about it. Responding from Europe, Garcia had a lot more to
say: yeah, I am a whiner but Tiger doesn't tell the truth. Sergio admitted he and Tiger had been enemies for some time. And here it came back to
Tiger's reputation and status. Just because Woods was the
best and most beloved golfer, didn't mean Garcia would go
with the crowd and just defer. Tiger might beat Sergio, but he wasn't gonna step on Sergio. The only thing these two agreed on, was that they did not need
to talk and squash the beef. - He doesn't need me in his
life, I don't need him in mine. And you know, let's move on and let's keep doing what we're doing. - [Narrator] Sergio would
continue to find Tiger cold, pompous and dishonest, Woods would continue to regard
Garcia as whiny and annoying. But soon thereafter Tiger
caught wind of something else Garcia had said during
this press availability. When he was asked, jokingly, if he'd invite Woods to
dinner during the US Open Garcia responded with a joke of his own, one that not only included
an obvious racist stereotype but evoked Fuzzy Zoeller's
hideously bigoted comments from early in Woods' career. Garcia apologized almost immediately. It was a silly remark, he
didn't mean to be racist, it was stupid, he was sorry. On Twitter, Tiger let Sergio
know it was not just a joke. He acknowledged Sergio's remorse and he insisted that
everyone please move on, from that nonsense at the
Players Championship. And honestly, that may have
been the end of the public beef. Garcia's needling had always
been the driving force. Chastened, perhaps, by taking it way too far, he tempered his public
complaints about Tiger. Ever since, the two have kept a polite and even respectful distance. Garcia never won big during Tiger's prime, but he finally claimed his
first major at the 2017 Masters. Woods missed that event
because of back issues, but from afar, offered his congratulations with typical brevity. When Tiger made his stunning
come from back surgeries to win the 2019 Masters,
Sergio, who missed the cut, returned the favor with
typical discursion. I think this beef is over. Sergio Garcia once seemed
like a genuine challenger to Tiger Woods. He came out of the gates with
potential to rival number one perhaps even equal him. Instead, the '99 PGA Championship was just about the
closest Garcia ever got. Sergio sometimes stole the
spotlight, but never a trophy. And his perpetual, ever-
widening second tier status fueled an unrelenting
urge to prod number one, to stoke beef in lieu of a real rivalry. But Sergio pushed and pushed until he pushed Tiger and
common decency too far. And ever since, it appears
he learned to just shut up and accept reality. Now, they hardly have to
talk to or about one another which is surely best for all involved.
"I just bludgeoned Tweety Bird" that's the hardest thing i've heard in a long time 😂😂😂
A similar thing to Sergio's quote about people thinking that Tiger gets away with shit and hes the only one with the balls to say anything (Sergio is a douche).This happened in tennis earlier in the year. Shapovolov, who has come close to maybe getting to a Major final 1-2 times, said that Rafael Nadal, 21 grand slam winner, gets special treatment for time violations (taking too long to serve). Its like, who are these fucks to comment on someone else in these sports when legit every thing they do is the only thing that matters? What does Woods playing really well have to do with Sergio coming up short? What a crybaby he is. Thanks for this post