After profitable one other LIV Golf title in Hong Kong, Sergio Garcia obtained a congratulatory textual content from certainly one of his long-time mates.
It was from Luke Donald, who additionally occurs to be this 12 months’s Ryder Cup captain.
“He advised me that it was nice to see one other European win on the market,” Garcia mentioned on a Tuesday cellphone name with media.
“We’ve been speaking for some time now, and we take pleasure in speaking to one another and seeing what’s happening.”
Again in October, Donald confirmed that Garcia was not eligible for the 2025 Ryder Cup workforce. However the European captain mentioned that he and Garcia had mentioned methods to resolve that. Due to his affiliation with LIV Golf, the DP World Tour levied fines in opposition to the Spaniard, who, in flip, didn’t pay them. To play on the European Ryder Cup workforce, you should be a European citizen and be a DP World Tour member in good standing.
Garcia paid off these fines as of January. He’s now Ryder Cup eligible.
“We’re good mates, we’ve been in Ryder Cups collectively,” Garcia mentioned of Donald.
“He is aware of what I can carry to the workforce.”
What Garcia brings to the desk is the best Ryder Cup report in historical past. He has received 28.5 factors whole, 5 greater than Billy Casper, the winningest American within the competitors’s historical past. Garcia additionally has extra expertise than all however two Europeans ever, enjoying in 45 matches throughout 10 Ryder Cups. Solely Nick Faldo and Lee Westwood have performed in additional.
Ought to Garcia make it onto this 12 months’s workforce at Bethpage Black, it might mark his eleventh begin in a Ryder Cup, thus matching Faldo’s and Westwood’s report. Solely Phil Mickelson has performed in additional with 12.
However what does Garcia need to do to don the blue and gold on Lengthy Island this fall?
“On the finish of the day, it’s nearly enjoying good golf and being constant all year long,” Garcia mentioned.
“I’m on his radar, and that’s one thing nice to know. The one factor I can do is hold doing what I’m doing, and hold giving me excuses, should you might name it that method, to have an opportunity of selecting me hopefully when it comes all the way down to the wire.
“So, we’ll see, we’ll see what occurs.”
First, Garcia should flip in an excellent exhibiting at Augusta Nationwide, the place helpful Ryder Cup factors can be found. 5 thousand factors are up for grabs at The Masters this 12 months, with 835 factors going to the winner (this identical system applies to all 4 majors for European gamers). Enjoying effectively is a tall activity, nevertheless. Garcia has missed 5 of his final six cuts at Augusta, courting again to his win in 2017. However the Spaniard’s type over the previous 9 months has vastly improved. DataGolf lists him because the twenty seventh finest participant on this planet as of proper now.
“It’s the drive to maintain making an attempt to enhance, to attempt to hold getting higher. I feel that’s vital. We all the time work laborious on our video games, however I feel I’m working laborious and dealing higher at it. In order that’s crucial when it comes all the way down to your recreation,” Garcia mentioned when requested why he’s enjoying so effectively at 45 years outdated.
“And bodily, I’ve been blessed with a physique that, you recognize, it won’t be the strongest on this planet, but it surely holds on very effectively. I haven’t needed to have many breaks in my profession due to accidents. So I feel that that retains your momentum going. For those who’re enjoying effectively, hastily you get injured and also you, you may’t play for like 4 or 5 months, it form of, it’s, it’s laborious to maintain going due to accidents. Then your physique doesn’t transfer the identical method and issues like that.
“So I’ve been very fortunate and really blessed with that, and I feel that’s why I’m nonetheless acting at my age.”
He might want to proceed to carry out effectively past Augusta if he needs to make it to Bethpage.
The largest concern Garcia faces proper now’s that he’s solely eligible for the PGA Championship moreover the Masters. The PGA of America awarded Garcia a particular invitation to compete at Quail Hole this 12 months, because of his robust exhibiting on LIV Golf and different international occasions. However a missed three-footer this previous week in Macau stored him from receiving an invitation to Royal Portrush for The Open, what Garcia referred to as his “favourite main.”
He has different alternatives to qualify for The Open and U.S. Open, however will probably be no straightforward activity. Nonetheless, Garcia has the pedigree, expertise, and expertise to do exactly that, and if he could make it into these fields, who is aware of what number of Ryder Cup factors he can earn. And if he does make it on the European workforce, the Individuals ought to be careful, as a result of no person has a greater report than Garcia.
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By way of. Observe him on X @jack_milko.
