After being excluded from the Ryder Cup team, Sergio Garcia does a LIV Golf U-turn worth £700,000.
Last year, several LIV Golf celebrities quit the DP World Tour including Sergio Garcia. However, the one-time Masters winner is now devising a plan to make a comeback on Europe’s tour.
Sergio Garcia has announced his strategy to rejoin the DP World Tour, with hopes of reclaiming a spot on the 2025 European Ryder Cup roster.
After joining LIV Golf, Garcia was counted among several European mainstays of DP World Tour who resigned from the latter in the previous year. The authority to fine and suspend players who switched over to LIV was granted to Tour last April, resulting in memberships being surrendered by renowned golfers such as Poulter, Westwood and Garcia himself.
All three of them missed the opportunity to participate in Marco Simone’s European Ryder Cup setup last fall. This was due to Luke Donald leading the home team to a resounding 16.5-11.5 win over their American opponents, leaving them out of contention.
Garcia endeavored to secure a place on Donald’s team for the previous year’s Ryder Cup by paying off his £700,000 ($1m) debt to the DP World Tour. However, this effort was too late as he had already forfeited his Tour membership and thus remained ineligible.
In 2024, the Masters champion from 2017 has expressed his desire to make a comeback by regaining his DP World Tour card and participating in at least four events as per membership requirements. During an episode of the Rick Shiels Golf Show, Garcia affirmed that he plans on rejoining the European [DP World] Tour.
When I became a member of LIV, my intention was to maintain my DP World Tour membership by participating in the minimum four events and retaining my card. While this goal proved challenging, it aligned with one reason for joining LIV: reducing playing time so that family commitments could take precedence.
It is evident that Garcia’s reacquisition of membership and adherence to the minimum playing requirements will qualify him for participation in next year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage. As time progresses, the Spanish golfer aims to secure a spot on the team once again, acknowledging his limited opportunities left competing under Europe’s banner. “My goal is to maximize my chances [of being selected]”, he affirmed with optimism.
It’s quite challenging to succeed with only a limited number of events played, unless you perform exceptionally well. Nevertheless, I hope that by consistently showing my capabilities and dedication alongside LIV and highlighting my contributions as part of the team, along with my past track record in this competition, I’ll have a chance at being considered eligible for participation not just based on skill alone.
Although he was snubbed in 2023, the Spaniard remains the top scorer of Ryder Cup points ever achieved by a player. His invaluable contributions to Europe’s success over the past twenty years have centered around Garcia. Given his remarkable record at this prestigious tournament, many believed that Garcia would inevitably become captain in due course during his career.
Despite the current period of turbulence, the Spaniard has not dismissed the possibility of leading his continent at the event. “I’m presently not contemplating Ryder Cup captaincy,” he stated. “As a player, I believe there’s still much that I can offer; however, it is definitely an option to consider and we shall observe how things progress.”
