Report: Sergio Garcia Attempted Last-Minute Ryder Cup U-Turn
A report by The Telegraph claims that Garcia attempted to make the European Side despite resigning his DP World Tour membership
When it comes to the Ryder Cup there aren't many players who you associate with the tournament more than Sergio Garcia. Not only is he the record points scorer with 28.5 points, but he has been present on multiple European sides throughout his career.
However, since his move to LIV Golf and the relinquishing of his DP World Tour membership, it's unlikely that we will see the Spaniard in a European Ryder Cup side, despite a recent report by The Telegraph stating that Garcia made a last-ditch attempt to be part of Luke Donald's side in Rome at the end of September.
Per The Telegraph's James Corrigan, a Tour insider explained that the 43-year-old "suddenly came to us and said that not only would he pay the £100,000 but also all of the outstanding fines if he was allowed to play,” with the source estimating the complete bill at more than £700,000.
The insider added: “They also said they’d play in whatever events we wanted, apart from those that clashed with the remaining LIV tournaments. But it was explained that, despite the ongoing peace talks, as he had resigned his membership, he is not eligible to join until next year. It was all a bit bizarre as that was made clear all along. As it is, Sergio remains the only one of the LIV players not to have paid the original £100,000 fine. Lee Westwood has paid, Ian Poulter has paid… but Sergio still hasn’t.”
Back in May 2023, the DP World Tour revealed that Garcia was the only one of the 17 players fined for joining LIV Golf who was yet to pay up the £100,000 fine, with the report stating: “The DP World Tour today confirmed that 16 out of 17 players have paid their fines which were imposed for serious breaches of the Tour’s Conflicting Tournament Regulation last June".
In the statement, it went on to say: "Sergio Garcia has not paid his £100,000 fine, nor has he given any indication that he intends to. We will therefore take appropriate action if he continues not to respect the Sport Resolutions panel’s decision. As confirmed yesterday, Garcia announced his resignation from the DP World Tour alongside Richard Bland, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood."
Following the news, Garcia admitted in August that he is disappointed that he won't be playing in this year's Ryder Cup, but did claim that "hopefully there will be a way back and something that we can work on, and we'll see what happens in the future,” following the news of a merger between the PGA Tour and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
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Matt joined Golf Monthly in February 2021 covering weekend news, before also transitioning to equipment and testing. After freelancing for Golf Monthly and The PGA for 18 months, he was offered a full-time position at the company in October 2022 and continues to cover weekend news and social media, as well as help look after Golf Monthly’s many buyers’ guides and equipment reviews.
Taking up the game when he was just seven years of age, Matt made it into his county squad just a year later and continues to play the game at a high standard, with a handicap of around 2-4. To date, his best round came in 2016, where he shot a six-under-par 66 having been seven-under through nine holes. He currently plays at Witney Lakes in Oxfordshire and his favourite player is Rory McIlroy, despite nearly being struck by his second shot at the 17th during the 2015 BMW PGA Championship.
Matt’s current What’s In The Bag?
Driver: Honma TW747, 8.75°
Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Rocketballz Stage 2, 15°, 19°
Hybrid: Adams Super Hybrid, 22°
Irons: Mizuno MP54, 5-PW
Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 Tour Satin, 50°, 56°, 60°
Putter: Cleveland TFI 2135 Satin Cero
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
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