May 22, 2013 3 min read

Sergio Garcia apologized to Tiger Woods for saying he would have “fried chicken” at dinner with his rival, a comment that Woods described as hurtful and inappropriate.

“I want to send an unreserved apology. I did not want to offend anyone,” Garcia said Wednesday. “My answer was totally stupid and out of place.”

Garcia was at a European Tour awards dinner Tuesday night when he was jokingly asked if he would have Woods over for dinner during the U.S. Open. The two players had been verbally sparring since The Players Championship nearly two weeks ago.

“We’ll have him round every night,” Garcia replied. “We will serve fried chicken.”

The remark took the golfers’ differences into ugly territory, reminiscent of when Fuzzy Zoeller made a similar comment about Woods after he won the 1997 Masters, becoming the first player of black heritage to win a major.

“The comment that was made wasn’t silly. It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate,” Woods said in a series of tweets. “I’m confident that there is real regret the remark was made. The Players ended nearly two weeks ago and it’s long past time to move and talk about golf.”

McIlroy says friendship with McDowell intact: Rory McIlroy has dispelled any split in his relationship with longtime friend Graeme McDowell.

McDowell confirmed that McIlroy will be leaving Dublin-based Horizon Sports Management after only 18 months, though neither McIlroy nor Conor Ridge at Horizon have commented on the split.

When asked about his management Tuesday at Wentworth, McIlroy said, “Go ask GMac. He knows more than me.”

The two U.S. Open champions from Northern Ireland will be in the same group for the opening two rounds of the BMW PGA Championship, which starts Thursday.

“I know what I said yesterday, and I guess at the time I meant that, but it is what it is, and it’s water under the bridge and away we go,” McIlroy said. “I spoke to Graeme yesterday afternoon, and when we got back to the hotel, we had a chat. Everything’s good. So there won’t be any quid pro quo at the wrong time the next few days or any stuff like that.

“I’m great friends with Graeme. He’s been like a big brother to me on tour,” McIlroy said. “I remember playing a practice rounds with him at the Dunhill Links back in 2007 when I got my card. He really showed me the ropes out here for a couple of years, and it’s great to have good friends on tour and he’s somebody I consider a very good friend.”