US Open: Garcia left apology note for Tiger

Sergio Garcia apologized to Tiger Woods via a handwritten note left on his locker.

Sergio Garcia didn’t even wait for the question. He prepared a short opening statement and jumped right into it.

Three hours prior to Garcia’s arrival, Tiger Woods told the masses that the matter, revolving around a racist remark aimed at Woods, was over. There wasn’t an official apology, and there wouldn’t be one.

Garcia said he looked for Woods when he arrived at Merion, but couldn’t find him. Instead, he posted an apology note on Woods’ locker.

“I did leave him a note, a handwritten note,” Garcia said. “And hopefully he can take a look at it and, you know, it’s a big week and I understand that it’s difficult to meet up and stuff. So, hopefully, I’ll be able to do it. If not, at least he has read the note and he’s happy with that.”

Garcia was peppered with questions about Woods. There had even been a report that his sponsor, TaylorMade, was considering dropping him.

“I’ve been very worried about the whole situation. I felt terrible about it,” Garcia said. “But TaylorMade is … all my sponsors are aware of my apology. They know how I feel about it. I’ve told them that what I want to do is be a respectful competitor to everyone and that also includes my sponsors. I know that everything I say or do affects my sponsors and I just want to be as respectful as I can to them and hopefully moving forward it wouldn’t be a problem.”

Garcia, who is paired with Stewart Cink and Padraig Harrington, will tee off Thursday at 7:44 a.m.