Following his move to LIV Golf, veteran golfer Sergio Garcia was banned from the Ryder Cup. Despite his banishment from the biennial tournament, the Spaniard has once again expressed his desire to play in this event.
The Ryder Cup is a team event featuring golfers representing Team USA and Team Europe. In his 10 appearances in the tournament, Garcia is the leading scorer for Europe with 28.5 points.
After his switch to LIV Golf, Garcia resigned from his DP World Tour Membership. As a result of this, he became ineligible to participate in the competition.
Team Europe Ryder Cup members are required to have a DP World Tour membership. The Fireballs GC Captain will be required to clear some challenges including clearing his outstanding fines which were imposed upon him for joining LIV Golf to regain his membership.
In an interview with Golf Monthly, the 44-year-old said he feels his game is good and hopes to feature in at least 2-3 more Ryder Cups if things get sorted out.
I definitely hope so. I hope that things get better and I would love to. I’ve had talks with the European Tour and I still want to support the European Tour, so hopefully, we all come to an agreement and that can be restored. I feel like my game’s still good enough to play at least two or three Ryder Cups, so if I can keep that level going, hopefully everything gets sorted and we can get to that point.
Sergio Garcia said
🚨🇪🇺⛳️ #NEW: In an exclusive interview with @GolfMonthly, LIV golf’s Sergio Garcia expressed his desire to play in several more Ryder Cups.
“I feel like my game’s still good enough to play at least two or three Ryder Cups, so if I can keep that level going, hopefully everything… pic.twitter.com/u2uhZ7ETUO
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) November 4, 2024
Garcia did not feature in Team Europe’s triumph in Rome in 2023 due to his ban. In this edition, the hosts ran away with the competition on Day 1 and despite a splendid fight back on Day 2 and 3 by Team USA, Europe came on top with a 16.5-11.5 scoreline.
Sergio Garcia reflects on becoming Europe’s highest scorer in Ryder Cup
While there was some criticism regarding Sergio Garcia‘s move to LIV Golf, there were also concerns about how his absence could affect the team. Even without their top scorer, Team Europe emerged as winners. The 2017 Masters champion has now reflected on his performances during the event.
Garcia has been instrumental in Team Europe’s rise in the Ryder Cup in recent years. During his 10 appearances, he has won the event 6 times while registering at least one point in every outing.
It’s amazing, I think that – first and foremost – to be able to play as many Ryder Cups as I have played and be able to help Europe win as many as we did, that’s the most important thing. And then to be able to become the highest points scorer in Ryder Cup history, that’s the icing on top of the cake.
Sergio Garcia said
Whether Garcia will get a chance to extend his points tally remains to be seen. With the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’ backed PIF currently working on a merger deal, there could be some changes that could make Garcia eligible for the next event at Bethpage in 2025.
