By Tod Leonard
Sergio Garcia went out of his way to not play in the final two days of DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship in England.

Garcia, who has not been popular among some of his peers since deciding to moving to join LIV Golf, played the first round of the DP World’s marquee event on Thursday and shot four-over-par 76 at Wentworth. Play was suspended that day with the news that Queen Elizabeth had died. The tour ended up not having any play on Friday and cut the event to 54 holes. The second round was played on Saturday with the final 18 set for Sunday.

By the time the second round was over at Wentworth, Garcia, who withdrew from the tournament, was in Austin, Texas, where he and his wife joined Longhorns alum Scottie Scheffler and his wife at the Texas-Alabama football game. Garcia’s wife, Angela Atkins Garcia, also attended the University of Texas and played on the women’s golf team there.

The day was also the occasion when Scheffler was named as the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year for 2021-22 and received the award on ESPN’s college pre-game show. Garcia’s attendance was caught on camera by Fox Sports cameras before the game.

Give Sergio and Angela this: They picked one hell of a game to go to, with Texas nearly pulling off one of the greatest upsets in recent years in losing 20-19 to the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide.

Certainly, it was a curious pairing amid the PGA Tour v LIV tensions. And it could be construed as Garcia sending a message to the DP World Tour that he’s got other priorities than to play in one of its most cherished events.

The circumstance made it worth recalling that only a few days ago, Rory McIlroy joked that he’d be fine with contending against LIV golfers in the final round. “They are going to be pretty tired on Sunday; it will be the fourth day,” quipped McIlroy, who indeed headed into Sunday with a chance to win.

In Sergio’s case this week, he lasted just 18 holes.

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