AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Sergio Garcia broke his driver on No. 2 at Augusta National after an outburst on the tee box Sunday and was issued a code-of-conduct warning, a first at the Masters.
The fiery Garcia then created a lighter moment later on that same hole when he carried fellow Spaniard Jon Rahm's clubs for a bit Sunday.
The Garcia-Rahm group, which paired two countrymen and former champions both on LIV Golf, was always going to create some buzz, even with both out of contention. Then Garcia quickly brought the drama up another notch.
The 2017 Masters champ looked frustrated on his follow-through when his first shot of the day went well to the right. After an opening bogey, Garcia hit another drive headed to the bunker on the par-5 second and lost his temper.
He slammed his club into the turf twice, then took a swipe at a table with a green cooler on it. That left the head of his driver dangling from the shaft, and Garcia reached over and yanked it off completely.
According to club officials, Geoff Yang in his role as chairman of the competitions committee spoke to Garcia on the fourth tee and issued the code of conduct warning.
The PGA Tour has been developing a code-of-conduct policy for competition, and the Masters is the first to use it, according to a person involved in the process. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity out of respect to Augusta National running the tournament.
The PGA Championship also plans to use the policy, and likely the other two majors. The person said the second violation would be a two-shot penalty, and the third violation leads to disqualification.
Garcia was disqualified in 2019 at the Saudi International for damaging greens in frustration. His antics over the years include angrily kicking off his shoe when he slipped during a tee shot at the World Match Play in English in 2001, and the shoe nearly struck an official.
He also spit into a cup during a World Golf Championship at Doral after three-putting.
Garcia played the rest of the final round at Augusta National without a driver and appeared to have calmed down.
Shortly after damaging the tee box on No. 2, the situation turned comical when Garcia started carrying Rahm's bag while Rahm's caddie was raking the bunker. The crowd applauded when Rahm took the bag from Garcia and started carrying it himself as Rahm's caddie Adam Hayes hustled to catch up to the players.
Garcia did manage to make par on No. 2 before bogeying the third and fourth holes.
AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contributed to this report.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Jon Rahm, of Spain, reacts after missing a putt on the 13th hole during the second round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Friday, April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Sergio Garcia, of Spain, finshes his first round in the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
LONDON (AP) — Police broke up a blockade in the center of Dublin by fuel protesters who have brought much of Ireland to a standstill during the past week as the government prepared on Sunday to approve cost-cutting measures they hope will end six days of disruption over soaring costs at the pump.
As tractors and trucks that had blocked O'Connell Street were rolling out of the capital, police on the other side of the country clashed with demonstrators as they cleared a protest at the Galway docks after a military vehicle was used to knock down a makeshift barrier.
Protests were diminishing Sunday amid a police crackdown, but they caused chaos as blockades at Ireland's only oil refinery, a major port and several vital depots prevented tanker trucks from delivering fuel to service stations and many gas pumps ran dry. Slow-moving convoys of vehicles also caused traffic jams on major highways.
Police began breaking up the protests Saturday, using pepper spray to help clear people from the Whitegate refinery in County Cork and vowing to remove others who were endangering critical infrastructure and public safety because gas shortages could prevent response by emergency services.
“They are not a legitimate form of protest,” Irish police Commissioner Justin Kelly said on Saturday. “We gave the blockaders fair warning that we were moving to enforcement and they choose to ignore it and continue to hold the country to ransom.”
But a farmer who has become a spokesman for the group in Dublin said he was angry their peaceful protest had been “ambushed” by an army of officers overnight.
Christopher Duffy said police threatened to tow their expensive vehicles and that could damage the machines.
“So we have no choice," he said. “Financially we have to move the vehicles.”
Protests began Tuesday and have grown as word spread on social media, with truckers, farmers, and taxi and bus operators taking part and calling for help — such as price caps or tax cuts — to bring down fuel costs they say will drive people out of business.
Government officials, who had already introduced measures to ease the burden of price rises two weeks ago, have been baffled over the rationale behind the protests because the global price spike is due to the conflict in the Middle East that has restricted oil exports.
Prime Minister Micheál Martin called the actions “illogical” and said the country was on the brink of turning tankers away at ports and losing its oil supply.
Protesters at a fuel depot in County Limerick voted to end their action Sunday and demonstrators at Rosslare Europort in Wexford agreed to begin letting trucks leave the port that is jammed with cargo that couldn't be moved.
Neilus O’Connor, an agricultural contractor, said they had made their point at the Foynes depot.
"It’s just a pity that we had to escalate a protest to this level to bring our government to the table to get fairness for every working person around this country,” O'Connor told national broadcaster RTE.
More than a third of gas pumps had run dry by Saturday, but the reopening of the refinery and the removal of roadblocks at fuel depots was expected to begin reversing the shortage, though it could take up to 10 days to fully recover, Fuels for Ireland chief executive Kevin McPartlan said.
The government called a rare Sunday Cabinet meeting to discuss a measure to help reduce the cost of gas and diesel, though it was not clear if it would be enough to halt the protest movement.
Other parties have been critical of the government's handling of the crisis and Sinn Fein, the largest opposition party, said it would call for a no-confidence vote in the coalition government. Holly Cairns of the Social Democrats said her party would support the vote.
“They have lost the confidence of the public," Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said. "It is clear that they still are not listening and do not accept the scale of this fuel and cost-of-living crisis.”
Protesters make their way to O'Connell Street during the fifth day of a National Fuel Protest, in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Tractors block O'Connell Street on the fifth day of the National Fuel Protest, in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
A protester sits on O'Connell Street in the heart of Dublin City center during the fifth day of a National Fuel Protest which has taken hold across Ireland, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Tractors block O'Connell Street on the fifth day of the National Fuel Protest, in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Tractors block O'Connell Street on the fifth day of the National Fuel Protest, in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
