Rory McIlroy has given a brutal verdict on whether he will fix his relationship with LIV Golf rebel Sergio Garcia. Former Masters champion Garcia was one of the marquee names to join LIV Golf in the summer of 2022.
His decision to join the Saudi-backed series has seemingly come at a cost, with the Spaniard's once glittering European golf legacy now in tatters. Throughout his career, Garcia has announced himself as one of the Ryder Cup's greatest players.
And the match-play event's highest ever points scorer has enjoyed plenty of his success in the blue and gold of Europe alongside fellow star McIlroy.
The pair shared a strong relationship having competed on six Ryder Cup Europe teams together over the past 13 years. This has since been broken though following the emergence of the Saudi-backed series.
The formation of LIV has left the golfing world torn in two, and both McIlroy and Garcia find themselves on opposite sides. The Northern Irishman has been one of the breakaway circuit's biggest critics over the past year, whilst his former teammate has taken the opportunity to team up with Greg Norman and co.
Speaking on the deterioration of their friendship last month, McIlroy revealed the pair had exchanged text messages at last year's US Open, which left the four-time major winner 'offended'. He said: "He was basically telling me to shut up about LIV, blah blah blah.
"I was pretty offended and sent him back a couple of daggers, and that was it.” Seven months on from the heated exchange, it seems the pair have well and truly burned their bridges. Asked at this week's Dubai Desert Classic if he would reconcile with Garcia, the world No. 1 admitted: "No, no way."
The traditional core of Europe's Ryder Cup setup has been ripped out following the inception of LIV, with European stalwarts Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood joining Garcia in defecting to the breakaway circuit. It remains unknown as to whether any LIV members will feature in this September's event, with a legal case surrounding the rebels' playing eligibility ongoing.
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Speaking at the host cost course in Rome at last September's Italian Open, McIlroy is ready for a new breed of European talent to replace Garcia and co. “I have said it once, I've said it a hundred times, I don't think any of those guys should be on the Ryder Cup team," McIlroy said at Marco Simone.
"I think we were in need of a rebuild, anyway. We did well with the same guys for a very long time but again as I just said, everything comes to an end at some point. I think Whistling Straits is a good sort of demarcation, I guess."
