A winner on day four of the Masters was not even part of the remaining field. Robert MacIntyre, somewhere, surely raised a smile.
The Scot was the recipient of widespread criticism on Thursday after offering a single-fingered salute to Augusta National when en route to a nine at the 15th. A range of expletives and a whack of the sacred turf also featured in his first round. MacIntyre’s passionate approach to his profession is admirable but this was all over the top. In time, he will surely realise as much.
“Hold my beer,” said Sergio García to MacIntyre on day four. The Spaniard had only reached the 2nd tee when the finding of a bunker triggered an outburst. García slammed the grass twice in anger – it had to be repaired by Masters greenkeepers before whacking his driver against a water cooler. The club snapped, meaning García had to play his remaining 16 holes without it.
Such tantrums do not sit at all well with those at the most prestigious club in the United States. García was spoken to by a Masters official on the 4th hole. Under Augusta’s new approach, a warning is followed by a two-shot penalty and subsequent disqualification if any player is silly enough to lose the plot three times.
Yet if Augusta was looking for remorse from García, it did not really arrive. “Just obviously not super-proud of it, but sometimes it happens,” he said. García reflected on frustrations “throughout the year” rather than only in this major. “It’s fine, it’s what it is,” García added. “You’ve just got to deal with it.”
Adding to a comedic scene was the image of García carrying the bag of his playing partner, Jon Rahm, elsewhere on the 2nd. “Adam [Hayes, Rahm’s caddie] stopped to rake my bunker,” García explained. “Benji, my caddie, was carrying both bags so I told him: ‘Just put it down, I’ll get it so you can go and get a yardage.’ Just as simple as that.” This had been a light moment that García managed to describe in a tone which implied a death was involved.
García was asked about the content of his conversation on the 4th. “I’m not going to tell you,” he said. Pressed further on the same situation, he replied: “Next question, please.”
García’s relationship with Augusta is a complicated one. He was an audible critic of the venue in the early stages of his career but won his solitary major here amid emotional scenes in 2017. It is the ending of that drought that renders subsequent events – including in this tournament – so strange. García should be at peace with the Masters by now.
Instead, he must fear his career is in inexorable decline at the age of 46. Since that Augusta triumph nine years ago he is without a major top 10. He has made just two Masters cuts, including this one, where he finished on the lower regions of theleaderboard at eight over par.
In keeping with his dark mood – the golfer looked as if he would rather be at the dentist – García was unwilling to expand on the cause of his post-2017 Masters struggles. “Bad golf,” he said. “Bad shots.
“If you don’t hit good shots, you’re not going to score well here. It’s very simple. Unfortunately a lot of bad shots.” It feels a shame to see García, one of the standout players of his generation, in this state.
Rahm expressed sympathy for his compatriot. “Obviously he hasn’t been swinging it the way he would like,” Rahm said. “It wasn’t the easiest day for him so there is not much I can say. I talked to him when I could to lift his spirits up a little bit. But it felt like I was exactly where he was at today the last few days so I can’t really say much.” Indeed, Rahm’s aggregate plus one finish was curious.
“Definitely some things I’m going change,” Rahm said. “Preparation-wise and what to do. But it’s hard to say how much I learned because I don’t think we ever seen a Masters this firm and I don’t know how long it is going to be until we do again. Off the tee and on the greens.
“Have you ever seen looking down the property how yellow the patron areas and how brown and purple parts of the greens and fairways are? It will be a long time until we see it like this. Definitely have some things in mind for future editions where it gets to this level.”
Keegan Bradley signed off with an excellent 66 for a three-under-par total. Viktor Hovland’s 67 ensured the Norwegian closed at minus four just as the leading groups set out.
