Sergio Garcia fined £5,000 for outburst

Spain's Sergio Garcia has been fined for his bad behaviour at the Greg Norman Holden International earlier in the season, the European Tour confirmed on Thursday.

After first denying that Garcia had been dealt with, the Tour refused to divulge the size of the fine, believed to be £5,000 , when it issued a statement on the matter.

The statement related to "Sergio Garcia's actions and comments regarding his line of sight ruling at the Greg Norman Holden International, which were discussed by the Tour's Tournament Committee at St Leon Rot on Wednesday, May 16, 2001.

"Sergio Garcia has been fined an appropriate sum for a serious breach of the PGA European Tour's Code of Behaviour, in addition to being requested to attend a meeting with representatives of the Tournament Committee the next time he plays in Europe."

The Spaniard is next scheduled to appear in Europe at the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond from July 12-15, the week before the Open.

Garcia was given a two-shot penalty for not taking correct relief from an advertising sign at the first hole in the third round of the Greg Norman event in Sydney when his ball landed behind a tree.

The Spaniard, who thought he held a two-stroke lead over eventual tournament winner Aaron Baddeley, was taken back to the first hole after completing his round where a 20-minute discussion ensued with European Tour referee John Paramor and his playing-partner Greg Norman.

The penalty was then imposed which drove Garcia to furiously swipe at a tree with his putter and then slam it into a golf cart.

At the time he said: "Of course I'm angry because I was leading by two strokes. Hopefully without John Paramor and his rules I might be able to win this tournament.

"This was a local rule and luckily I'm not disqualified. Ask 500 players and they will all tell you they would have done it (the drop) the way Greg Norman and I agreed."

Paramor said: "I've never yet known a player to be happy with a two-shot penalty."

Garcia, who has not won a tournament since October 1999, eventually lost a playoff to Baddeley at the first extra hole.

The last player to receive such a large fine was Northern Irishman Ronan Rafferty, who was fined 5,000 pounds for walking off the course during the 1991 US Open at Hazeltine.

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