The Open 2017: Sergio Garcia injures shoulder taking angry swipe at a bush

Sergio Garcia was one of the favorites this week at the British Open, a championship where he’s thrived and where he’s expected to do big things again this year building on his first ever major. But Garcia struggled in Thursday’s opening round while many of his peers were able to post low numbers in relatively benign conditions at Birkdale. Now, he’s getting treatment in the middle of the round from a physio thanks to a frustrated swipe of a gorse bush.

The moment came at the fourth hole, where Garcia found himself along the edge of one of those famous gorse brambles we see at The Open each year. Frustrated with his play, the precocious Spaniard decided to take it out on the innocent flora and the plant life came out the winner.

While Garcia grabbed his shoulder in pain, and is getting treatment, he does not yet seem to be in WD territory and continues to play on at Birkdale. On the next hole, Garcia drove the green and poured in an eagle to get into red digits for the round.

Sergio is 1-under on the round thanks to that eagle, but he’s still at 2-over for the championship and needs to make a move during the back half of his round on Friday. If conditions worsen for the afternoon wave, Sergio getting back to even par for the championship could have him right back in contention for the third straight major.