Sergio Garcia Fails To Qualify For Major For First Time Since 1999
The LIV Golf player will be absent from the PGA Championship, the first time he's not qualified for a Major in 24 years
The 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club will feature 18 LIV Golf players. However, one player not among that number is Sergio Garcia.
That means next week's tournament will be the first time Garcia has failed to qualify for a Major since the 1999 US Open. In that time, he has missed just one, the 2020 Masters, when he was absent because he contracted Covid-19. Had he not been unwell, he would have been able to play thanks to his win at Augusta National three years earlier, which handed him an exemption for life.
After missing the 1999 US Open, the Spaniard's run of Major qualification began with The Open before he marked his arrival at the PGA Championship with a bang, finishing second behind Tiger Woods by just one shot in a tournament that propelled him to international prominence.
The 43-year-old, like many other LIV Golf players, has seen his Official World Golf Ranking suffer greatly since signing for the circuit. Garcia was World No.68 when he teed it up in the inaugural event at London’s Centurion Club but has now slipped to World No.189 - far lower than the top 100 threshold that has seen several other LIV Golf players receive an invite to this year’s event.
Because Garcia's Masters win came six years ago, another potential route for him to qualify this week no longer exists. That's because only winners of one of the three other showpiece events in the last five years automatically qualify.
As well as Garcia’s runner-up finish in his PGA championship debut all those years ago, he has three other top 10 finishes in the tournament, but he has yet to lift the Wanamaker Trophy. Had he converted one of those into a victory, we would have kept his qualification run going this year, as previous champions are exempt for life.
The fact Garcia was a member of the 2021 European Ryder Cup team doesn’t cut any ice either, given he is outside the top 100 the week before the tournament, a stipulation for those players to qualify. Then, he missed the cut in last year’s tournament at Southern Hills, which fell way short of the top 15 position he needed to ensure qualification this year.
Get the Golf Monthly Newsletter
Subscribe to the Golf Monthly newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest tour news, equipment news, reviews, head-to-heads and buyer’s guides from our team of experienced experts.
With his one Players Championship win coming in 2008, rather than in the last three years, Garcia couldn’t qualify via that route either. Neither did Garcia claim a PGA Tour win between last year’s event and his move to LIV, and nor did he appear in the top three on the OWGR’s International Federation Ranking on 24 April.
That left him needing a special invite from the PGA of America to keep his run going, but with the field finalised, with it came the confirmation that no such invite had been extended to Garcia. That means he has failed to qualify for a Major for the first time since the 1999 US Open, ending a run of qualification for 95 successive tournaments.
Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
-
Fascinating Data Reveals How To Get From A 5-Handicap To Scratch... And It Could Also Hold The Key To Improvement For All Amateur Golfers!
The latest Arccos data suggests how to get from a 5-handicap to scratch, but could the answer also point to progress for all golfers?
By Barry Plummer Published
-
Major Winner Matt Fitzpatrick Outlines The Most Important Factor In Scoring Well At The Masters (And It's Not Putting)
Off the back of a top-10 at Augusta in 2023, the former US Open champion shares which part of a player's game he thinks must be in peak condition to stand a chance of slipping on the famed Green Jacket
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
Arnold Palmer Invitational Prize Money Payout 2024
One of the most lucrative events of the season takes place at Bay Hill as Kurt Kitayama defends his title
By Mike Hall Published
-
Seminole Pro-Member Results: How Did Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, And Justin Thomas Fare?
PGA Tour member Mackenzie Hughes claimed the 'gross' title alongside partner, Frank Edwards while Erik van Rooyen and John Pinkham secured the 'net' prize at Seminole Golf Club
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
Tiger Woods Confirmed For Surprise Start In Event He's Never Played Before
The 15-time Major winner will tee it up in Florida alongside the likes of Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
When And Where Could Tiger Woods Play Next?
The 15-time Major winner had previously mentioned he is aiming to play around a tournament a month - so where could he tee it up next?
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
Why Did Tiger Woods Withdraw From The Genesis Invitational? The 15-Time Major Winner (And His Agent) Explain...
Woods was making his eagerly-anticipated first full PGA Tour start of 2024 at the Genesis Invitational in southern California
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
Who Has Caddied For Tiger Woods Throughout His Career?
From Mike Cowan to Steve Williams, the 15-time Major winner has utilized a handful of caddies throughout his long and successful career
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
Tiger Woods' New Caddie May Be With Him For The Players And The Masters
Lance Bennett - who is the former looper of Matt Kuchar and Sungjae Im - is expected to caddie for Tiger Woods at the upcoming Genesis Invitational
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
Genesis Invitational Prize Money Payout 2024
Tiger Woods makes his first appearance of the year in the latest of the PGA Tour’s signature events at Riviera Country Club
By Mike Hall Published