Sergio Garcia, the all-time leading scorer in Ryder Cup history, will not be teeing it up at Bethpage Black this September, and the emotional fallout has been immediate.
The 45-year-old Spaniard, who accumulated 28.5 points across 10 Ryder Cup appearances, was left off Luke Donald’s final European team on Monday.
Donald had warned Garcia weeks earlier at the British Masters that his spot was far from guaranteed. He had also confessed to GolfMagic that Garcia would need a standout showing at LIV Golf’s season-ending Team Championship to be considered as the captain’s pick.
But Garcia’s Fireballs GC finished eighth, falling short of the impact needed to sway Donald’s decision.
“The call with Luke (Donald) was fine but not the call I wanted, obviously,” Garcia told GolfMagic’s Andy Roberts on Monday. “Now, the only thing I can do is support the team from home. It’s as simple as that. I’ll be watching and cheering on the European team.”
The snub hit Garcia hard. Just hours after the picks were revealed, he withdrew from the Amgen Irish Open at The K Club in Kildare, citing emotional fatigue.
“I felt like I was so looking forward to being a part of that team,” he expressed during the same conversation with Golf Magic. He added, “And so I felt like mentally, you know, mentally it was kind of tough.
“I didn’t want to go there and not be fully engaged in the tournament and stuff, so I just decided to take a little bit of time off and spend it with the family and do a couple of things, you know, some things outside of golf and just kind of reboot a little bit, recharge the batteries.”
Garcia’s season has been a mix of flashes and frustration. He claimed his second career LIV Golf title in Hong Kong this March, finishing ninth in the LIV Individual Championship standings. That followed a third-place finish in the same race last year.
Yet despite those wins, Garcia’s world ranking has fallen to No. 411, mainly due to LIV Golf events not earning ranking points.
The Masters winner’s withdrawal underscores the emotional weight of missing out on what would have been his 11th Ryder Cup appearance, tying legends like Sir Nick Faldo and Lee Westwood.
His passion for the event has never wavered, and his leadership has often been a force for younger players under pressure.
According to GolfMagic, the Spaniard still plans to compete at the Spanish Open at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid next month.
But he’ll need a top-tier finish to crack the top 70 in the DP World Tour Rankings and qualify for the season-ending playoffs in Abu Dhabi. Currently, he sits at No. 188.
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