With wine flowing and good food aplenty, it was a day of love for Rory McIlroy and his new wife Erica Stoll at their wedding on Saturday. But it wasn't just the happy couple who were swept up in the emotion of the occasion: three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington and recent US Masters champion Sergio Garcia buried the hatchet at the event in County Mayo, Ireland.
Padraig And Sergio Make Up At Rory McIlroy’s Wedding
With wine flowing and good food aplenty, it was a day of love for Rory McIlroy and his new wife Erica Stoll at their wedding on Saturday.
But it wasn’t just the happy couple who were swept up in the emotion of the occasion: three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington and recent US Masters champion Sergio Garcia buried the hatchet at the event in County Mayo, Ireland
The pair have quite the history. Starting a series of spats was a falling-out with Jose Maria Olazabal. Here Harrington questioned Olazabal’s decision to repair a mark in the green in line of his put. As Olazabal and Garcia are close friends, this didn’t bode well for the pair’s relationship.
After Harrington bested Garcia at The Open Championship at Carnoustie in 2007, the Irishman later claimed that his rival was a ‘very sore loser’ in an interview on the Irish radio show ‘Game On’.
Related: Rory McIlroy To Get Married This Weekend To Erica Stoll
Harrington, who defeated Garcia in the playoffs, said: “I was polite as I could, and as generous as I could be. But he was a sore loser, and he continued to be a very sore loser. So clearly after that, we had a very sticky wicket I’d say.”
Things were made worse at The Open 2013, where the Spaniard was heard criticising the slow play of his partner. Garcia was overheard saying to an R&A rules official: “As soon as you tell him the handbrake goes back on.”
The pair have had to set aside their rivalry before — they have enjoyed significant Ryder Cup success as teammates — but Harrington still refused to be happy for Garcia in his Masters win earlier this month.
Harrington, with couldn’t even pretend to be supporting Garcia in his time as a Sky Sports Pundit. When asked by presenter David Livingstone: “Certainly between Justin Rose and Sergio your heart would pick Sergio, wouldn’t it?” he replied: “Well, maybe not mine!”
Now, after the wedding, Harrington stated that his relationship with Garcia is “the best it has ever been.” He even regrets being “a bit harsh” on his rival in his role as a Sky pundit.
On Tuesday, Harrington went further and said: “We’ve had a chat, because obviously clearly there was a bit of an elephant in the room about what I said.
“We have decided that we will look, going forward, at our similarities and the good in each of us rather than the other way.”
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