Sergio Garcia Told 'There Was No Chance' Of Rejoining DP World Tour After Late Ryder Cup Bid

Sergio Garcia won't be lining up for Team Europe at the 2023 Ryder Cup, but not for the want of trying.

The Spaniard joined LIV Golf last year before relinquishing his DP World Tour membership to see his Ryder Cup hopes vanish.

He resigned earlier this year following the DP World Tour's victory in the abitration panel hearing against LIV Golfers who had continued to play in the 54-hole series despite rejected conflicting event releases.

It meant that the tour could enforce financial penalties and tournament suspensions against its members who were teeing it up in LIV events.

However, a report from The Telegraph's James Corrigan recently stated that Garcia attempted to pay his fines with the DP World Tour in the hopes of rejoining and therefore once again becoming eligible for the USA vs Europe match in Rome.

Garcia was unsuccessful and, in an interview with the i's Kevin Garside, he has shed more light on his last-minute attempt to make his 11th appearance for Europe.

“I called and asked him [DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley] about the possibility of me being a member of the Tour again,” Garcia told i.

“I knew I had to be a member to have any possibility of being a part of the European team in Rome. That’s what I wanted, if I paid all my fines and played the minimum number of tournaments required. I was willing to do both, though it would not be ideal because I would have had to play 10 out of 11 or 12 weeks.

“The answer was, there was no chance. When he told me that there was no point going forward with anything else. I’m not going to make the extra effort if I’m not going to get any love back from them. Pelley said hopefully next year everything will be more favourable for all of us but he did not encourage me to become a member. 

"That is a decision I will make with my family and will try to see what is the best thing we can do. At the moment, the feeling is not amazing. We will see where we end up when the new year starts. It is what it is.”

The DP World Tour called the discussion a "moot point" and clarified that Garcia cannot rejoin until next season.

A spokesperson for the DP World Tour said: “This entire discussion is a moot point. Even if Sergio Garcia was to pay everything he owes to the PGA European Tour, the simple fact is that he does not fulfil one of the essential, long-standing and widely known eligibility criteria for Team Europe: ie: he is not a member of the DP World Tour. He resigned his membership, of his own volition, in May, and is therefore not eligible to rejoin until next season.”

Garcia is the Ryder Cup's record points scorer with 28.5 points. He earned three points last time out alongside compatriot Jon Rahm, whom he is close friends with.

Rahm has previously stated his desire for Garcia to continue on the Ryder Cup team, but golf's civil war between the upstart LIV Golf and the established PGA and DP World Tours ultimately put an end to that...for now at least.

With the proposed deal between the PGA/DP World Tours and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund and 'unity' for the game, Garcia and his fellow LIV players like Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell, Henrik Stenson and Martin Kaymer could all well return to vice captain and captain roles in future Ryder Cups.

For this year, though, it is a LIV-less European side.

Luke Donald's Team Europe seek to regain the Ryder Cup trophy next week in Rome, where he side will be aiming to avenge the record defeat last time out at Whistling Straits.

Steve Stricker's Team USA won 19-9 in Wisconsin to years ago, but they'll have to win on away soil for the first time since 1993 next week if they want to keep the trophy Stateside.

Garcia plays in Chicago this week in the LIV Golf League, the 12th of 14 events on the calendar. The final two events, in Jeddah and Miami, take place next month.