Sergio Garcia has dropped out of the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) for the first time in 23 years following his move to LIV Golf. Garcia shocked many earlier this summer after making the contentious decision to join the Saudi-backed series.
Amid the saga, the Spaniard's name has not been in the middle of the controversy. Garcia's Saudi switch was a significant one, having been a pillar of European golf across the last two decades.
The 2017 Masters champion's legacy within his home continent has no doubt taking a hit since his decision to join Greg Norman and co since his breakaway move.
But it is not just his legacy that has felt the effects of his switch, with his spot in the world rankings taking a huge tumble. One key dent in LIV's armour amid the ongoing civil war with the PGA Tour within the sport is its lack of recognition from OWGR.
As a result, this has left some of golf's biggest names competing without ranking points for the majority of the 2022 campaign. This has of course had a big impact on the ranking positions of many of LIV's players, no more so than Garcia.
The Spanish star made his way into the world's top 100 since winning the 1999 Irish Open as a 19-year-old. After a 23-year period this stay though is now over, after dropping to 103 in the world on Monday.
Since joining LIV Golf in June, Garcia has played in just four OWGR-recognised events. Despite this, he failed to take advantage, missing the cut at the US Open, whilst securing underwhelming finishes at the BMW International Open and Open Championship before withdrawing from the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth after just one round.
This monumental fall could have detrimental effects on the Spaniard's 2023 schedule, with the 42-year-old's major exemption on the back of his 2017 Masters victory now expired. Garcia will still be eligible to compete at Augusta as a past champion, however his participation at golf's three other flagship events is now in huge doubt.
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In spite of the whirlwind year, the Spanish star is still confident he made the right decision in joining the LIV Golf Series. He said: “I can only speak for myself, but I've definitely made the right decision. I feel like I'm where I want to be.
"Obviously, I knew some of the things that might happen if I joined here, but at the end of the day, as we're seeing… you can see that some of the guys on the other side don't really want me there.
"I don't want to be a burden to anyone and even less in a Ryder Cup. I'd rather be away from that as much as it hurts and make sure that Europe has the best chance of winning than me being there and three or four guys that are going to be there are going to be upset or something.”
