AUGUSTA, Ga. – Sergio Garcia has heard the narrative and he’s tired of it.

Garcia and the other 17 players who joined LIV Golf and are playing the Masters have found themselves at the heart of an intriguing clash between those who remained on the PGA Tour and those who joined the breakaway circuit. 

It’s a portrayal that the Spaniard contends has been manufactured by the media and led to a heated exchange with a member of the press following his opening round.

Question: How normal did it feel coming back here and playing and concentrating on your game? 

Garcia: Totally normal. You guys need to stop it. You guys are making a big deal out of this and it's you guys. 

Q. No, it's not.

Garcia: Yes, it is. I've had nothing but great things from every single player I talk to. So please stop it and talk about the Masters.

Q. I think actually, in defense, I think actually I was thinking you haven't had as many reps as sometimes you normally would. How did you feel coming in and playing this golf course because of that?

Garcia: I don't think you meant that, but I did play ... I played five tournaments coming in here. So it's pretty good. There's been times where I probably maybe haven't played that much coming into here. But it's usually around that, four, five, six tournaments. But that wasn't the problem.

Garcia, who shot a first-round 74, was also asked about Thursday’s ruling from an arbitration hearing in the United Kingdom between the DP World Tour and a group of players who had joined LIV Golf. The arbitration panel ruled in favor of the European circuit who sanctioned players who joined LIV with a £100,000 fine for violating the tour’s conflicting event release policy.

“How can I talk about something I don't know? Obviously, I don't look at the news. So I don't know what happened. I'm not going to talk about something without all the information that I need,” Garcia said.

Garcia, the 2017 Masters champion, was then asked, “Better to ignore [Thursday’s news from the hearing]?” Garcia responded, “Yeah."