Ryder Cup: Sergio Garcia can still be a European force if eligible

NEW YORK — Sergio Garcia still has the talent to serve Europe well at next year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.

After all, he just wrapped up his third LIV Golf season, finishing third in the standings, falling behind only Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann. Yes, Garcia turned in a better LIV season than Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, and Cameron Smith. The Spaniard won at Valderrama in July and posted a trio of runner-up finishes this season.

“It’s great, but more than anything, just to finish as high as possible, it’s great, against all these guys that are so good,” Garcia said after his finish at LIV Golf Chicago.

He also played well at the U.S. Open, tying for 12th at Pinehurst No. 2 after getting into the field as a first alternate. Garcia posted rounds of 69-71-71-70 to finish at 1-over for the championship, seven strokes behind DeChambeau.

DataGolf currently lists Garcia as the 22nd-ranked player in the world, ahead of Koepka and other notable stars such as Justin Thomas, Wyndham Clark, and Sahith Theegala. But since the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) does not award points to players competing in LIV events, Garcia’s OWGR ranking has plummeted to 390th in the world. Therefore, he did not earn invites to the PGA Championship and The Open, thus playing in only The Masters and the U.S. Open. He missed the cut at Augusta National by a shot, attributing that near-miss to “very difficult” wind conditions.

Garcia is also the winningest Ryder Cup player of all time, earning 28.5 points across his 10 appearances. He last played for the European Ryder Cup team in 2021, when he and Rahm were the lone bright spots that year for their team. Garcia earned three points that week, posting a 3-1 record despite his side losing by a historic margin, 19-to-9.

But after joining LIV Golf, he rescinded his DP World Tour membership in 2022. He consequently could not don the blue and gold in Rome in 2023, as the Europeans went on to win without him.

“The DP World Tour’s policies have been very consistent. There’s been a lot of clarity around that. It’s really the same as it was in Rome,” Captain Luke Donald said on Tuesday.

Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images

“You have to be a member of The European Tour and born in Europe. If you fulfill the regulations and the rules that the DP World Tour set, then you’re eligible. There’s a bunch of LIV guys that play on LIV who are eligible now so that I can pick them at will.”

Rahm and Hatton, who joined LIV Golf over the past 12 months, retained their DP World Tour membership. That explains why they have played on the European circuit recently, hoping to secure valuable Ryder Cup points.

Garcia, meanwhile, is not, but Donald provided a promising development regarding the Spaniard’s Ryder Cup prospects in 2025.

“First of all, obviously, he resigned his membership a couple of years ago. But we have had some chats. He’s considering rejoining. He’d have to follow all the rules and regulations like everyone else, and if he does that, he will be eligible to partake in the Ryder Cup,” Donald said.

“We chatted on the phone a couple of weeks ago. You know, he’s certainly very interested in doing that. He understands everything involved, and again, the decision has to go to him, whether he’s prepared to do all that.”

Donald confirmed to SB Nation that vice captains must also be DP World Tour members in good standing, should Garcia want to serve in that capacity. But it sounds like he wants to play—and he has the game to help the Europeans. After all, the Europeans face a tall task in 2025: winning a Ryder Cup on American soil at Bethpage Black. Garcia, of course, helped Europe win the Ryder Cup in 2012, the last instance in which an away team won the Cup. Considering his strong form from this past season and his impressive match-play record, Garcia could be a force to be reckoned with, even as an elder statesman.

However, according to a February report from The Telegraph, Garcia owes the DP World Tour $1 million in fines. If he pays those and clears the hurdles necessary to get reinstated as a member, he will become Ryder Cup eligible.

Whether he is motivated to do so remains to be seen. But he continues to love competing on LIV. He said at the U.S. Open that his family, his love for the game, and the challenge that golf presents motivate him daily, but he did not mention the Ryder Cup.

“I love what I do, which is playing golf. I’m a competitor. I try to do it the best I can,” Garcia said at Pinehurst in June.

“Do I have to prove anything? No, of course not. Would I like to play better and better every day? Of course, I would. Who wouldn’t? When it comes down to proving things, I don’t think so. I think I’ve done well enough.”

Garcia has had a marvelous career and season, one many fans and pundits have overlooked. Indeed, he has done “well enough,” but he would also serve Europe well at Bethpage Black. His form may change throughout the 2025 season, but right now, Garcia is one of the game’s top players. So yes, he would still be a force the Americans would not want to face on Long Island next year.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.