“D**k! As if it’s not frickin’ hard enough" - Sergio Garcia reportedly lashed out at cameraman after missing a putt at Open qualifying round

Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia failed to qualify for what would have been his 25th consecutive Open Championship (26th overall). Such was his frustration that he even took it out on a cameraman covering the event.

The incident occurred in the qualifier that took place on Tuesday at the West Lancashire Golf Club in Liverpool, England. The tournament was a one-day 36-hole event (two rounds of 18), much more demanding than the 54 holes over three days that Garcia is used to.

Sergio Garcia at the Qualifier Tournament (Image via The Irish Independent).

At the 25th hole (7th of the second round) there was a turning point for Sergio Garcia's performance. He reached that hole playing for -8, which placed him among the qualified players. But an unfortunate chip cost him the par and, apparently, his concentration.

In the following holes, Garcia saw his -8 turn into -6 when he got only one birdie and two other bogeys (he played 8 holes for par). Thus, his chances of reaching a place in Hoylake were slipping away.

On the 34th hole (16th of the second round), according to The Irish Independent, Garcia was 'disturbed' by a cameraman when he was about to make a putt of only five feet. In fact, Garcia had to hold back and resume playing the putt to regain his concentration.

Eventually, he missed his putt and only made a bogey. Faced with this result, reports the Irish media, the Spaniard could not contain himself and unloaded all his 'affection' on the cameraman.

“D***! As if it’s not frickin’ hard enough,” García said to the cameraman, according to The Irish Independent.

Crowd reunited at the West Lancashire Golf Club to watch Sergio Garcia's performance (Image via The Irish Independent).

Sergio Garcia in the qualifier for the Open Championship

Sergio Garcia started his performance very well in Tuesday's qualifier for the Open Championship. At the West Lancashire Golf Club, he started his day around 07:00 am (local time) and his first front nine was solid (-3) with four birdies and one bogey.

He closed the first round with three more birdies and a bogey to place second with -5, behind South Africa's Kyle Barker.

However, his performance in the afternoon lost steam, apparently due to the physical demands of the long day.

In the second round, he could not go better than -1, while his main rivals (eventually classified), had scores of -3 or better, including two excellent -7 on account of Alex Fitzpatrick and Matt Wallace.

Finally, the five qualifiers were the aforementioned Barker, Fitzpatrick, and Wallace, in addition to Matthew Jordan and Tiger Christensen. Garcia was three strokes behind the last qualifier.

Garcia's long history in the Open Championship includes 25 participations, 24 in a row (1998 - 2022, the 2020 edition did not take place). His best result has been second place, twice (2007 and 2014).

He has finished 10 times in the Top 10 and has only been cut five times.