Garcia splits with Callaway, says deal ‘wasn’t the fit we thought it would be’
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Could Sergio Garcia be moving to Ping? Callaway confirm split after two years as Spaniard says equipment deal ‘wasn’t the fit that we thought it would be’
Sergio Garcia, who is making his first start of the year at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, appeared yesterday with a mixed bag that included PING Blueprint irons and TaylorMade’s new SIM woods, rousing speculation about the status of his equipment deal with Callaway.
Garcia parted ways with TaylorMade after 15 years to join Callaway in 2018, but the brand has now confirmed that they have not renewed their agreement with the 2017 Masters Champion.
“We can confirm Callaway did not renew its agreement with Sergio Garcia for the 2020 season,” a Callaway spokesperson told Golf Digest
“We parted on great terms and the option for Sergio to carry Callaway equipment in the future remains.”
Garcia was then asked about the relationship in a press conference, and said while there was no hard feelings on either side, it just ‘wasn’t the fit that we thought it would be’.
“Unfortunately our relationship with Callaway didn’t go any farther,” said Garcia. “So at the moment, I’m a free agent. So I’m playing whatever I feel that — feels best for me or fits me best. That’s where we are and that’s what I’ve been working on this Christmas break.
You know, looking forward to hopefully show that we’re going the right track.”
“Unfortunately we thought the best thing to do was to go our separate ways.
“It’s all good. There’s no hard feelings by any side, and these things happen. You know, at the end of the day, what I want to do is go out there and enjoy what I do, try to do it to the best of my ability, and they are also trying to get the best equipment they can get. Unfortunately just it wasn’t the fit that we thought it would be for me, and you know, we just move on from there.”
When Garcia first joined Callaway in January 2018 he got off to a winning start at the Singapore Open, and has added two other titles on the European Tour since: the Andalucia Valderrama Masters (2018), and the KLM Open (2019).
However, his time on the PGA Tour hasn’t been as successful, missing out on the FedEx Cup playoffs for the last two years in a row. He has also fallen from inside the World’s top 10 to 41st since his equipment switch.
And just two years after signing with the brand, Garcia is now looking elsewhere. Ping confirmed to Golf Digest that he’ll be using their irons, wedges and putter this week, but there is no deal currently in place.
It also feels unlikely he’d go back to TaylorMade, meaning there is always the chance he may not take up an equipment deal at all. It’s proved to work for World No.1 Brooks Koepka, and in 2018 all four major champions won with a mixed set of clubs.
