Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods began the third round of the Masters 12 shots off the lead on Saturday, but were still certain to attract plenty of attention at Augusta National.
The pair's frosty relationship became public knowledge during the Players Championship in 2013, when they were paired together in a third round played over two days at Sawgrass due to bad weather.
It took less than two holes for tensions to come to the surface with Garcia feeling he was put off on his approach to the second by crowd noise caused by Woods preparing for his own shot from the trees.
Woods insisted he had been told by a marshal that Garcia had already played before pulling a fairway wood from his bag, with the fans cheering the indication that the world number one would attempt to go for the green on the par five.
The spat then took an ugly turn later that month when Garcia became embroiled in controversy for making what could be construed as a racist remark about the 14-time major winner.
During a Q&A session involving the full Ryder Cup team at the European Tour's annual awards dinner, Garcia was asked if he would invite Woods to dinner one night during the upcoming US Open to settle their differences.
''We will have him round every night,'' Garcia said. ''We will serve fried chicken.''
Garcia was quick to apologise and left a hand-written note in Woods' locker the following month at Merion, but Woods did not appear in the mood to forgive and forget.
''The comment that was made wasn't silly. It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate,'' Woods wrote on Twitter at the time. "I'm confident that there is real regret that the remark was made. The Players ended nearly two weeks ago and it's long past time to move on and talk about golf.''
The pair played together in the third round of the BMW Championship in Chicago in September 2013, but had been kept apart in majors until now.
"It was gonna happen at some point sooner or later!" Garcia wrote on Twitter on Friday evening. "Paired with @TigerWoods tomorrow but don't you worry guys, I'm sure we'll both be fine."
Source: PA-WIRE
