NEW YORK — Sergio Garcia still has the talent to help Europe at next year's Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
After all, he just completed his third season of LIV Golf, finishing third in the standings behind Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann. Yes, Garcia finished a better LIV season than Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, and Cameron Smith. The Spaniard won Valderrama in July and has finished runner-up three times this season.
“It's great, but most of all it's great to finish as high as you can against very good players,” Garcia said after finishing at LIV Golf Chicago.
He also participated in the U.S. Open as the first alternate and had a good result, tying for 12th at Pinehurst 2nd School. Garcia posted a round of 69-71, 71-70 and won by 1 over, seven strokes behind DeChambeau.
DataGolf currently has Garcia listed. He became the 22nd-ranked player in the world, ahead of notable stars such as Koepka, Justin Thomas, Windham Clark and Saheeth Segala. However, since the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) does not award points to players who compete in LIV events, Garcia's OWGR ranking plummeted to No. 390 in the world. Therefore, he failed to earn invitations to the PGA Championship and the Open, appearing only in the Masters and the US Open. He missed the cut by one stroke against Augusta National and attributed the near miss to “very difficult” wind conditions.
Garcia is also the winningest player in Ryder Cup history, scoring 28.5 points in 10 starts. He last played for a European Ryder Cup team in 2021, and he and Rahm were the only bright spots for the team that year. That week, Garcia earned three points with a 3-1 record, despite his team losing by a historic 19-9 margin.
However, after joining LIV Golf, he canceled his DP World Tour membership in 2022. As a result, he missed out on the blue and gold medal in Rome in 2023 as Europeans continued to win without him.
“DP WorldTour's policy has been very consistent. We've become pretty clear on that. It's really the same as in Rome,” Captain Luke Donald said on Tuesday.
“You must be a member of the European Tour and born in Europe. You are eligible to participate if you meet the regulations and rules set by the DP World Tour. LIV players who are playing on the LIV are currently eligible. There are a lot of people out there, so I'm free to choose them.”
Rahm and Hatton, who have been involved with LIV Golf for the past 12 months, maintained their memberships on the DP World Tour. That explains why they have been playing on the European circuit lately, hoping to score valuable Ryder Cup points.
Meanwhile, Donald provided an encouraging development regarding the Spaniard's prospects for a 2025 Ryder Cup appearance, although Garcia does not.
“First of all, obviously he left the membership a few years ago. But we've had some chats and he's considering rejoining. He's just like everyone else. “You have to follow all the rules and regulations and if you do that you will be eligible to participate in the Ryder Cup,” Donald said.
“We talked on the phone a few weeks ago. Certainly, he's very interested in it. He understands everything involved and also has the ability to do all of that to him. You have to decide if you are ready.”
Donald confirmed to SB Nation that if Garcia wants to serve as vice-captain, the vice-captain must also be a DP World Tour member in good standing. But he seems to want to play — and he has the play to help the Europeans. After all, the Europeans face the difficult task of winning the Ryder Cup on American soil in 2025 at Bethpage Black. Of course, Garcia helped Europe win the Ryder Cup in 2012, but this was the last time an away team won the Cup. Given his strong form last season and impressive match play performance, Garcia could be a force to be reckoned with even at his seniority.
However, the Telegraph reported in February that Garcia had paid a $1 million fine to DP World Tour. If you pay these fees and clear the necessary hurdles to return as a member, you will be eligible to compete in the Ryder Cup.
Whether he has the will to do so remains to be seen. But he continues to love competing in LIV. He said at the U.S. Open that his family, his love of golf and the challenges it brings motivate him every day, but he didn't mention the Ryder Cup.
“I love what I do, which is playing golf. I'm a competitor. I'm going to do the best I can,” Garcia said at Pinehurst in June.
“Do I have to prove anything? No, of course not. Don't you want to play better every day? Of course you do. Who wouldn't? When it comes to proving things , I don't think so. I think I did a good enough job.”
Garcia has had a great career and season, something that has been overlooked by many fans and pundits. Indeed, he did “well enough”, but he would also serve Europe well at Bethpage Black. His form could change throughout the 2025 season, but for now Garcia is one of the top players in the game. Yes, he's still a force the Americans don't want to face on Long Island next year.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
