Sergio Garcia: Rory McIlroy 'Lacking Maturity,' Hurt Friendship with LIV Comments

The rift created between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour has led to rising tensions between members of each tour. The latest casualty of this tension is the friendship between Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy.

In an interview with Telegraph Sport, Garcia revealed that his relationship with McIlroy had been damaged following the latter's comments about LIV Golf and PGA Tour defectors.

Garcia said before LIV's Mayakoba tournament (h/t USA Today's Jaylon Thompson):

"I think it is very sad. I think that we've done so many things together and had so many experiences that for him to throw that away just because I decided to go to a different tour, well, it doesn't seem very mature; lacking maturity, really.

"But Rory's got his own life, and he makes his own choices, the same way that I make mine. I respect his choices, but it seems like he doesn't respect the ones I make."

McIlroy, a four-time major winner, was in Garcia's 2017 wedding but was reportedly offended when his friend decided to be one of the first defectors to the tour financed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

Human rights groups have accused Saudi Arabia of sportswashing to improve its reputation, and McIlroy has been consistently critical about the tour and its CEO, Greg Norman.

"Greg (Norman) needs to go. He needs to exit stage left," McIlroy said in November. "He's made his mark but I think now is the right time to say you've got this thing off the ground but no one's going to talk unless there's an adult in the room that can actually try to mend fences."

Garcia, 43, was annoyed by his former friend's comments and the pair's relationship has been soiled ever since.

They will not have to wait much longer to compete against one another, as both are set to compete in The Masters field this April.