Garcia changes mind about leaving DP World Tour for LIV Golf
2 min read
One week after announcing he would leave the DP World Tour because he was being treated poorly, Sergio Garcia has apparently had a change of heart.
The Spaniard and new member of the LIV Golf Invitational Series backpedaled on his previous statements and told ESPN he is shelving plans to resign from the European Tour.
« When I finished the Open Championship [last] Sunday, I said that I was most likely going to resign my membership from the [DP World] Tour, » the 2017 Masters champion told ESPN. « That obviously meant not being eligible for the Ryder Cup because you have to be a member. »
Eligibility for the Ryder Cup appears to be a big factor in Garcia’s decision to remain part of the DP World Tour. He already resigned from the PGA Tour in order to participate in the Saudi Arabia-funded LIV Golf series, but was still eligible for major events because he was part of the European arm of the pro golf world. LIV Golf does not qualify for world rankings because it doesn’t implement a cut system at its events and doesn’t play a full field, so LIV-exclusive golfers can’t compete to be on the Ryder Cup teams. (Swedish golfer Henrik Stenson was recently stripped of being the European captain for the 2023 Ryder Cup because he joined LIV Golf.)
Garcia said after the Open Championship in Scotland last week that he was receiving a lot of flack from his fellow golfers on the DP World Tour for joining LIV Golf. Apparently, there have been other conversations in the following week that made him feel less threatened.
« Thanks to the things that Jon Rahm said, and I had a couple of good conversations with guys on the [DP World] Tour, I’m going to hold off on [resigning], » Garcia continued. « I want to at least see what’s happening when the Ryder Cup qualification starts. See what kind of rules and eligibilities they have in there. If I agree with what they [are], I’ll definitely keep playing whatever I can on the tour and try to qualify for that Ryder Cup team. And if not, then we’ll move on. But it is definitely something that is in my mind. »
Garcia has amassed 11 PGA Tour victories and 20 international wins since going pro in 1999. He plans to play at the third-ever LIV Golf event this weekend, which is being held in Bedminster, New Jersey.
