Garcia empathises with Rory
Just as McIlroy has broken up with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, the Spaniard has been through exactly the same situation in the public spotlight when his relationship with former Wimbledon champion and world number one Martina Hingis came to an end in 2003.
Garcia ended that relationship but was on the receiving end in 2009 when Morgan-Leigh Norman, the daughter of Greg Norman, broke up with him, prompting a slump in form that took hold for several seasons until last year.
“I haven’t seen Rory since I heard the news, but when I do I will definitely put my arm around his shoulder and ask if he wants to talk about it,” Garcia said yesterday at Wentworth.
“I’ve been through the same sort of thing a couple of times. I broke it off when I split up with Martina but Morgan was the one who left me. And of course how you react is very different.
“When you are the one who leaves someone, you can usually get over it quicker. But either way it is always a hard thing to do when you have been with someone for a long time, for a period of years, and shared so much together.
“It should be easier if it is mutual, but when it is a really painful break-up you try to get away from it by throwing yourself into golf more than ever. But it doesn’t always work out. It is not easy to concentrate when something like that is still on your mind.”
Garcia’s slump in form after his split with Norman was near catastrophic for his career. He took a complete break from the game after a meltdown at the 2010 PGA Championship and missed out on Ryder Cup qualification in 2012.
“Time is a great healer, but how long it takes is going to be different every time. It’s not something you can predict.
“Things do get better, and I’m sure Rory knows that. Personally, I have never been happier.”
McIlroy’s fellow Irishman Pádraig Harrington said he was very surprised by the news, saying personal crises were a “big stresser” on one’s golf game.
“There would be nothing worse,” Harrington said. “He obviously cares a lot for Caroline but realises that it’s not the right thing for him to do. That’s a horrible place to be.
“Nobody wants to hurt anybody else. Clearly he cares a lot for her but doesn’t want to make something that would only be worse down the road. He’s taken a very brave action, assuming it’s the right action, it’s an incredibly brave action that he’s taken.”
McIlroy and Wozniacki had got as far in their wedding plans as sending out the invitations for their November 8 nuptials in New York and Harrington said: “It’s obviously a shock to the system. You know, it’s better not to go through with it if he was having any doubts but who am I, I’m not a marriage counsellor. I’m no expert on this sort of stuff.
“He’s a young lad living in the public eye. It’s a lot of things to handle, an awful lot of things to handle.”
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