The course of true love never did run smooth, and for one of the world’s best golfers it has led him into a deep patch of rough. Sergio García, who was at one point ranked at No 2 in the world, has revealed that a sudden loss of form since mid-March was the direct result of being jilted by his girlfriend.

The Spaniard admitted on Monday that his poor performance was not a case of the yips — a nervous condition that throws golfers off their game — but a loss of confidence caused by the end of his relationship with Morgan-Leigh Norman, daughter of Greg Norman, the Australian golfer.

Ms Norman broke the news to him ten weeks ago when the couple were in Miami. García, 29, who has previously had a relationship with Martina Hingis, the Swiss tennis player, immediately went into a decline that allowed the English golfer Paul Casey to overtake him in the rankings last weekend. García is now fourth.

“It hurt,” García told reporters about the end of his relationship. “It was probably the first time I have been really in love. It took me a while to get over it.”

The golfer has been looking irritable both on the course and off in recent months. He was forced to apologise last month after railing against conditions at Augusta, the home of the US Masters, which he described as “too much of a guessing game”.

Speaking at Turnberry, where the Open will be held in July, he said that it had been her decision to part. He gave a deep sigh as he described his discomfort on the golf course. “Myself, when I am not feeling happy on a golf course and not up for it, that is the way it is. You can’t do anything about it. I can’t do well. Obviously the break-up with Morgan didn’t help. You get over some things. Others take a little longer.

“It was her doing, not mine, and it happened the week of Miami. It is unfortunate, one of those things. Do I still think of her all the time? No. It is pretty much back in the past now.”

Casey, who is now third in the world rankings behind the Americans Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, has had love on his side. The Cheltenham-born golfer married late last year, an event that may have contributed to his winning three strokeplay events in the past four months and finishing runner-up in a matchplay tournament.

Thomas Bjørn, a Danish golfer, has previously remarked on the power of the newlywed effect. “Being married is wonderful,” he said. “She gives me such a lot of confidence.”

García’s form has slumped in the weeks since the Championship event at Doral, Florida, where he tied for 31st place. He was 77th in his next event, 38th in the Masters, and lasted only two rounds in the Quail Hollow Championship early this month. He put up a more spirited performance at the Players Championship by finishing 22nd, but it was a poor performance compared with last year’s tournament, which he won.

García said at Turnberry that he had not seen Ms Norman since the end of their affair. “We are still friends but no, we haven’t spoken since then. We have not telephoned. Obviously, because of the situation I would rather not talk to her, because when you are trying to get over a relationship it is difficult. But I don’t have a feeling of hate against her.”

Asked whether being in the public eye made it harder to deal with his emotions, he replied: “No, I wasn’t sad because my relationship was public because everybody knew about it. I was sad because of my feelings. It is within me. It is in my heart. I am not thinking what other people are thinking about it. I am thinking what I am thinking about it. At the end of the day a relationship is still a relationship.”

On Monday, García seemed to be more cheerful. He gave his golfing partners a good-natured barracking and joked about the weather. “I am definitely happier now than I was a couple of weeks back,” he said. “I can feel it. People close to me can feel it. It is very important to me to be happy.”

García said that he rarely paid any attention to what was written about him. “I don’t like reading about myself, whether it is good or bad things, because I don’t think it helps. The good things might make you think you are better than you are. They might go to your head. You still want to have your feet on the ground.”