Sergio Garcia confirms last-ditch Ryder Cup plea: "The answer was no chance"

Sergio Garcia has confirmed he did offer to pay his LIV Golf fines in a last-ditch attempt to play in the 44th Ryder Cup in Italy.

Ben Smith

22 Sep 2023

Sergio Garcia confirms last-ditch Ryder Cup plea: "The answer was no chance" — Sergio Garcia confirms last-ditch Ryder Cup plea: "The answer was no…

Sergio Garcia has confirmed he did make a last-ditch attempt to play in the Ryder Cup by offering to pay fines imposed as a result of competing in LIV Golf events without a tournament release.

Not only did Garcia offer to pay off his bill - said to be in the region of £700,000 - the Spaniard also offered to commit to a series of tournaments in 2024 providing there was a chance he could be involved next week in Rome.

"It was all a bit bizarre," one source previously told Telegraph Sport about Garcia's desperate attempt to be involved in an 11th Ryder Cup.

Garcia told i's Kevin Garside he phoned DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley directly and the answer was a firm no.

Per the report, Pelley told Garcia he was following the guidelines and only if Europe's record points scorer was still a member of the European-based circuit could he be considered.

Garcia resigned his DP World Tour membership earlier in the year when LIV Golf players were ruled against by a sports arbiter.

The 2017 Masters champion told i things will be 'more favourable' in 2024 for LIV players but he was still discouraged from reapplying for his membership.

"I called and asked him about the possibility of me being a member of the [DP World] 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."

He continued:

"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 [before the season’s end]

"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."

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So will Garcia reapply for his membership?

"That is a decision I will make with my family and will try to see what is the best thing we can do," he said.

"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

"I would have loved to have been involved in Rome but I'm not, and I have to move on. I have to live with that and realise that's the way they want to go. I have to respect it.

"Going back and forth and kicking myself just drags me, drags me mentally. I have to focus on what I'm doing here at LIV, with the Fireballs, my team-mates. I don't want to be dragging. I want to be out here enjoying what I'm doing, playing as hard as I can. That's pretty much all I can do from now on."

The 44th Ryder Cup takes place at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club over 29 September to 1 October.

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