Graeme McDowell has called on a Ryder Cup reunion for Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia, after the pair appeared to have reconciled their friendship in recent weeks.
Amid the feud between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, both McIlroy and Garcia saw their once strong friendship deteriorate, having found themselves on opposite sides of the dispute. McIlroy had proven to be one of LIV's strongest critics, whilst Garcia opted to leave the PGA Tour and join the breakaway circuit.
The Spaniard's choice and the Northern Irishman's stance ultimately led to a breakdown in their relationship, which had previously been a close one, with McIlroy even acting as a groomsman at Garcia's wedding.
In recent weeks the war between the two rival tours seems to have come to an end, after an agreement with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia was made which will see the PGA Tour and LIV Golf work in unison, alongside the DP World Tour.
And whilst the powers that be had put their differences aside, the same can be said for McIlroy and Garcia, after coming together at the recent US Open. Speaking ahead of this week's LIV Andalucia event, the Spanish star revealed he had regained a friend, with that buddy being McIlroy.
"I have got my friend back," Garcia said. "Angela [Garcia's wife] and Rory said ‘hi’ to each other at the US Open. And there was a nice text from Rory to her. That kind of gave me the go-ahead to reach out to him. I had been thinking about it for a while but I wasn’t totally sure about it.
"And when I saw that reaction from him, he kind of gave me the go-ahead to get closer. We had a great chat. It was two friends that wanted to get back to that spot. That’s the most important thing.” The pair's friendship blossomed after forming a formidable partnership when starring alongside each other at the Ryder Cup.
Garcia's love affair with the match-play event appeared to have come to a heartbreaking end earlier this year, after he was forced to resign his DP World Tour membership, therefore giving up his Ryder Cup eligibility. Following the so-called merger between the rival tours though, LIV stars will no doubt be hopeful having their cards reinstated.
On the back of this, one man who would love to see McIlroy and Garcia share a Ryder Cup stage again is LIV star McDowell. Speaking on The Bunkered Podcast, he said: "From a playing personnel point of view, definitely a couple of lads are here on LIV, you know, certain Spanish individual [Garcia] who's still pretty good at golf.
"You know, maybe we will see Garcia and McIlroy bouncing down the fairways in Italy [at this year's Ryder Cup]. That would be cool." McDowell's hope may be slightly far-fetched with this year's event just three months away. Speaking earlier this month DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley warned it would not be a 'straightforward' process to reinstate the resigned LIV rebels.
