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Garcia, Woods, continued

Sergio Garcia apologizes to Tiger Woods for “fried chicken’’ comment, which Woods calls “wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate.’’

VIRGINIA WATER, England - Sergio Garcia apologized to Tiger Woods yesterday 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. "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 2 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 2 weeks ago and it's long past time to move and talk about golf."

For once, both players agreed.

Garcia held an impromptu news conference at the BMW PGA Championship to elaborate on a statement he sent out Tuesday. He said he called Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent at Excel Sports, because he doesn't have a phone number for the world's No. 1 player.

The Spaniard said his comment about fried chicken was not intended as a racist remark.

"It was a funny question and I wanted it to be a funny answer in reply," he said. "I started to get a sick feeling straight after the dinner and I felt so bad I thought my heart was going to come out of my body. I felt bad about [it] all day."