His eponymous website hails him as “more than a champion.” Which is fair if you pay due deference to the nearly 40 tournament victories, the more than nine years he has spent ranked inside the world’s top 10 and take even the briefest glance at Sergio Garcia’s record as part of 10 Ryder Cup teams. No one on either side of the biennial contest between Europe and the United States has ever scored more points than the 28½ recorded by the Spaniard.
So far that is.
But the possibility of Garcia, or any other member of the LIV Golf League, qualifying directly for the side Old World captain Luke Donald will lead into what can safely be called a battle at Bethpage Black next September is slim at best. To make that team, the 44-year-old will likely need to perform with some extraordinary distinction on the Saudi-backed circuit next year. Even then, that might not be enough to justify Donald allocating one of his six picks to his long-time amigo.
Still, none of that is deterring the 2017 Masters champion. Before playing this week in the PIF Saudi International, Garcia re-joined the DP World Tour and paid all of the fines levied on him when he played in LIV events directly opposite of those on what was, for most of his career, his home circuit. That left him only needing to serve nine weeks of suspension from events on the European Tour. By his own reckoning, Garcia will be unable to play in a DP World Tour event until the Bahrain tournament at the end of next month.
Then again, he may just have to wait a little longer. Garcia’s already disadvantageous situation has been further exacerbated. In order to stay on the right side of DP World Tour regulations, Garcia will have had to apply for the release that would allow him to bypass this week’s Nedbank Challenge in South Africa. Although all such requests are treated on a case-by-case basis, it is safe to assume that official permission was not forthcoming. So as soon as Garcia struck his opening tee shot Wednesday in the opening round of the Saudi International—he shot an opening even-par 72—at the Riyadh Golf Club, he was again in breach of DP World Tour rules, in debt to the tour and subject to another suspension.
Is playing one more time against the Americans worth all that inconvenience?
“It’s quite simple,” says Garcia. “I said when I moved to LIV I still wanted to support the European Tour. That has always been my home and where I was given so many opportunities as a young player. I have always wanted to pay back that support. Unfortunately, they didn’t give me and some other guys enough opportunities to do that. But now we can. I also feel like I’m still playing well and I want to at least be eligible to qualify. And I need to be a member to be in that position. So yes, I do feel it is worth any hassle that comes my way. At the end of next season we will see if has been worth it or not. But right now I feel like it is.”
Garcia’s claim regarding the quality of his form is validated by his play on LIV in 2024. There was a victory in the Andalucia event at Valderrama, as well as three other runner-up finishes.
“I know I will have to again play extremely well on LIV next year to have a chance of making the Ryder Cup,” he admits. “But I will also play a few European Tour events too. If I do really well in those you never know. And even if I come up a little short, a pick is the other possibility. I’ve spoken to Luke a couple of times. They were good conversations. He is a friend and has always been good to talk to. I feel like my best golf was in 2008. Then 2017 was very solid. So that is second. This year I’ve played some of my best since then.”
Tom Jenkins
There is one thing to which Garcia will be hoping Donald hasn’t paid much attention. In the 25 majors the 2017 Masters champion has played since winning at Augusta National, he has missed the cut in15, his best finish the T-12 at last year’s U.S. Open. For someone who had accumulated 20 top 10s in the four most important events prior to donning golf’s most famous green jacket, that is a woeful return.
Garcia remains defiant though, even if, in his mid-40s, he concedes that this Ryder Cup is likely his last opportunity to play in Europe’s colours.
“I don’t think going to LIV has affected my play in majors,” he says, somewhat defiantly. “My mentality is what makes me play better or worse. I felt like I played decently at Augusta this year. But I lost it a bit on the last few holes on Friday and missed the cut by a shot. Then I played really well at the U.S. Open. I know I am still good enough to play Ryder Cup.
“My age is a factor, I understand that,” he continues. “But if my mind is good I can still achieve a lot of good things. If I had played poorly this year, I might feel differently. Playing well always helps. I’m working hard to keep going in the same positive direction. But we’ll see what happens.”
As for the reception he will receive when he does make his return to the tour he once labelled “shit,” Garcia’s innate confidence is unshaken. His celebrity will, he contends, bring added value to those DP World Tour events in need of some star quality.
“I’ve talked to the DP World people; they were excited for me to rejoin,” he insists. “They told me that the atmosphere was good at many events towards the end of last season where LIV players competed. Everyone was happy. But unfortunately, the quality of field has gone down a lot at many European Tour events. So guys like myself who have had the careers we have had and have well-known names, can help with that. That’s a positive.”
Amidst such outward optimism, Garcia will surely be aware that his chances of participating at Bethpage—where he finished third in the 2002 U.S. Open amidst his notorious battle with countless re-grips of the club prior to swinging—remain slim. But whatever happens, in at least one area he stands united with his fellow Europeans. Under no circumstances will he be asking for financial compensation should he make the team.
“That is unfortunate,” he says of the possibility that the American team will be paid. “It takes away everything that the Ryder Cup stands for in a way. It’s never been an issue for the European players. But the Americans seem to be making it one. And now it seems like they will be getting something. Hopefully they are happy about that. But it doesn’t help the Ryder Cup. We Europeans don’t care if we get paid or not. That’s not our priority. Our goal is to play as well as possible and for Europe to win.”
First, Garcia has to get there.
Main Image: Mike Ehrmann
