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….
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