What did Sergio Garcia say about making himself ineligible for the Ryder Cup?
Is the Spaniard yet another casualty of the war between LIV Golf and the PGA? Regardless he’s not going to play.
In a surprise move, the Spaniard has removed himself from the running for the upcoming Ryder Cup, a tournament which he has dominated over the years.
Sergio Garcia decides against playing in the Ryder Cup
According to reports, Spanish golf star Sergio Garcia will not compete in next year’s Ryder Cup in Rome. Indeed, the former Masters winner indicated that he intentionally allowed his DP World Tour membership to lapse, such that he would be ineligible to for the Ryder Cup. Garcia, who is in fact that Ryder Cup’s all-time leading points scorer, could have retained his DP World Tour membership card by participating in next week’s Mallorca Open, thereby fulfilling the minimum of four events that a professional must play in, however, he opted not to do so. With that, the Spaniard brings to an end a 24-year run regardless of whatever ruling comes from a court hearing in February, which will decide whether the Tour can ban LIV Golf players. Interestingly, Garcia has since been fined for his decision to withdraw.
Why did Sergio Garcia withdraw from the Ryder Cup?
As one can imagine, the obvious question here is, ‘why?’ In truth, Garcia’s admission that he’d rather be out of the Ryder Cup than damage his team, appears to be a thinly veiled reference to recent comments by Rory McIlroy, who stated that he does not want LIV golfers in the team of captain Luke Donald. What’s sad here, is the fact that regardless of whether LIV Golf’s players should win their case against the tour, Garcia won’t be able to extend his streak of appearances that stretches all the way back to 1999.
“I obviously would love to keep being a part of it. ...When I see so many people are against it, if the team is better without me, I’d rather be out of it,” Garcia said. “There are several guys who feel strongly that way. I don’t want to be something that might hurt the team. Obviously, it’s sad for me. That’s the way they want it.” Was his decision correct? It’s not exactly a question that factors in when considering the fact that for Garcia, it appears to be a question of honor and principle.