Sergio Garcia has had a change of heart as he has chosen to hold on to his spot on the DP World Tour - at least for now. The Spaniard initially indicated he was going to quit the European tour claiming he was 'not feeling loved.’
However, the 2017 Masters champion is still keen to play in the Ryder Cup, which would be in jeopardy if he left the tour. Garcia also revealed that a heart to heart with Jon Rahm played a part in his U-turn. He was quoted as saying by ESPN : “When I finished the Open Championship [last] Sunday, I said that I was most likely going to resign my membership from the [DP World] Tour.
“That obviously meant not being eligible for the Ryder Cup because you have to be a member. But thanks to the things that Jon Rahm said, and I had a couple of good conversations with guys on the [DP World] Tour, I'm going to hold off on that.”
His compatriot and former world number one Rahm was concerned with the possibility the 42-year-old would miss the prestigious team event if he left the DP World Tour and hoped they would come to a solution. Garcia has already relinquished his PGA Tour card but has given himself more time to think about his next move regarding his DP World Tour status.
“I want to at least see what's happening when the Ryder Cup qualification starts. See what kind of rules and eligibilities they have in there,” Garcia added. “If I agree with what they [are], I'll definitely keep playing whatever I can on the tour and try to qualify for that Ryder Cup team.
“And, if not, then we'll move on. But it is definitely something that is in my mind.” Garcia was one of the first players to resign from the PGA Tour following the introduction of LIV, but reiterated his desire to stay with the European Tour following a chat with its CEO.
"I told Keith Pelley [CEO of the DP World Tour], 'I want to keep being a member of the DP World Tour,” he continued. “I want to play my minimum, still support the tour, still have my eligibilities to make Ryder Cup teams.
"He said, 'That's great, but we got to do what's best for us. We'll see what that is.'" Swedish golfer Henrik Stenson was in line to captain Team Europe at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, but he was stripped of the honour after he announced last week he is joining LIV Golf.
Garcia described that turn of events as ‘sad’. "Now it's gotten a little bit sadder with fines and bans," Garcia said. "What they did to Henrik. It's a little bit sad." LIV's third event is set to take place this weekend at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey.
