Sergio Garcia gives up on £750,000 as Ryder Cup hero breaks down after snub
Sergio Garcia has ruled himself out of the Irish Open after being snubbed by Team Europe captain Luke Donald for a spot at the Ryder Cup.
A crestfallen Sergio Garcia has ruled himself out of a potential £750,000 payday after missing out on a Ryder Cup spot. Due to playing on the LIV Golf tour, where no Ryder Cup ranking points can be earned, Garcia was hoping to be one of Luke Donald's six captain's picks.
However, Europe's all-time leading scorer was overlooked by Donald, who instead chose Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, Matt Fitzpatrick and Sepp Straka. They join automatic qualifiers Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Bob MacIntyre, Tyrrell Hatton and Rasmus Hoijgaard. The only change to the team that reclaimed the trophy in Rome two years ago is the inclusion of the latter, at the expense of his twin brother Nicolai.
Despite a solid season, finishing ninth in LIV's individual player standings and winning a title in Hong Kong in March, Garcia couldn't make the European captain's plans for the match at New York's Bethpage Black later this month.
On his difficult conversation with Donald, who delivered the disappointing news, the 45-year-old told GolfMagic: "The call with Luke was fine but not the call I wanted, obviously.
"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 decision has dealt a heavy blow to Garcia, who has scored a record 28.5 points across 10 Ryder Cups. Consequently, he has withdrawn from the Irish Open at the K Club, which gets underway on Thursday. The tournament offers a prize fund of £4.5million, with the winner pocketing £750,000.
Garcia admitted: "I felt like I was so looking forward to being a part of that team. Mentally, it was kind of tough. I didn't want to go there [to the Irish Open] 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, some things outside of golf and just kind of reboot a little bit, recharge the batteries."
A host of stars will grace the K Club, including McIlroy, Lowry and Hatton, as well as American big names Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed. Donald opted for another Spanish LIV player, Jon Rahm. He was chosen over England's Matt Wallace, who came 12th in the European rankings.
Donald said: "Jon really sets the standard for us. He is usually the first person up and the last person in the team room. He understands the history of the Ryder Cup. He takes that history to heart and plays like that."
Rahm's selection was hardly surprising, although the Spaniard confessed: "It's a different feeling. I didn't think I'd be as emotional as I am right now. It's going to be special."
Meanwhile, Team USA captain Keegan Bradley has chosen not to select himself as a player. If he had, he would have become the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963.
Instead, he has selected Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns to join automatic qualifiers Scottie Scheffler, JJ Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau. The biennial showdown begins on Friday, September 26.
