Garcia told: One rule for all

A senior United States Golf Association official has hit back at Sergio Garcia’s assertion that Tiger Woods would have received some preferential treatment at the US Open.

Garcia complained that had the world number one been on the course during the worst of the Friday afternoon rain play would have been halted.

But Tom Meeks, the USGA’s senior director of rules and competitions, said: ‘‘I can assure you that’s not true.

‘‘From the very get-go it started raining on the way out here and it let up just a little bit a couple of times.

‘‘But we did everything we could to stay on schedule. If you want to say that certain players were out there under unfair conditions then I think you have to say they were all out there under unfair conditions.

‘‘In our opinion if the course is playable, and by that we mean if the greens are playable, then we can play.

‘‘We had people monitoring the water that formed on the 18th and our rules rover said there were places for the players to go to take relief if they hit it into the water. That’s fair.

‘‘As far as the greens are concerned I think the maintenance crew did a magnificent job keeping the greens playable and, ladies and gentlemen, we kept playing.’’

Garcia thought there should have been a stoppage after finding first a bunker, then a green and finally a tee totally drenched.

‘‘I’m thinking ’do we have to be swimming here to stop play or something?’’’ he said. ‘‘It got to a point where it was a little too extreme.’’

His remarks smacked a little of sour grapes, though, because they came after he shot a 74 to fall from one behind Woods to seven adrift.

Just behind him Padraig Harrington managed a 68 to move into the second place Garcia had occupied after the first round.

Woods had to play in heavy rain himself for his morning 68 and his halfway total of 135 was the best by eight of those in his side of the draw.

Garcia also decided to take on the crowd during his round, gesturing in their direction after a comment was made as he took an eternity to hit his shot to the green.

Meeks was asked if disciplinary action might follow for that.

‘‘That’s the first time I’ve heard this,’’ he said. ‘‘If we had a player that had some kind of confrontation with the crowd a little bit we have some excellent officials.

‘‘They might call me or handle it themselves. I would personally like to see our official go over and say ’could you please make sure this doesn’t happen again’, if in fact he did it.

‘‘But I would also expect that official to call our person in charge of security and say ’would you

please get someone down here to go with the Garcia group because there are some fans that are starting to maybe get a little bit out of hand with Sergio in their conversation with him’.

‘‘Those are things that we deal with when they come up.’’

As a tournament that is part of the US and European tours schedules they might feel the need to punish Garcia. It would not be the first time.

The 22-year-old was cautioned at Wentworth when he kicked a shoe and nearly hit a referee during the Cisco World Match Play and then last January criticised chief referee John Paramor over a ruling and hit a tree and golf buggy with a club. He was fined £5,000 for that.

Meanwhile, conditions were much improved for the start of the third round today.

Thomas Bjorn was the first of the Europeans back into action, teeing off just after Denmark had gone

out of the World Cup 3-0 to England. He bogeyed the long fourth and was 11 over par after seven holes, 16 behind Woods.