Sergio Garcia reportedly tried to pay a fine of almost $1 million when he delayed trying to get into the European team
Sergio Garcia appears to have made one last attempt to mend his relationship with the DP World Tour and get into the Ryder Cup.
However, the turnaround apparently simply came too late.
Garcia, according to the Telegraph’s James Corriganapproached the DP World Tour earlier this month and offered to pay all of his outstanding fines – nearly $1 million – with the European league in order to compete on the European Ryder Cup team in Rome later this month .
Garcia gave up his DP World Tour membership to join LIV Golf, as did several other prominent European players. However, Garcia never paid the original £100,000 fine imposed on him by the league.
“They suddenly came to us and said that if he was allowed to play he would not only pay the £100,000 but also all the outstanding fines,” a DP World Tour source told The Telegraph.
The total was estimated at more than 700,000 pounds – that’s about $867,000. It is unclear what the other fines were for.
While the feud between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf died down after the new proposed partnership was announced, the DP World Tour apparently told Garcia it wasn’t interested yet.
“They also said they would take part in all the events we wanted, except those that clashed with the remaining LIV tournaments,” the source told The Telegraph. “But it was explained that despite the ongoing peace negotiations, since he had resigned from his membership, he would not be able to join until next year. It was all a bit bizarre as that was made clear all the time.”
Garcia officially resigned from the DP World Tour earlier this summer, shortly after a UK-based arbitration tribunal upheld the £100,000 fines imposed by the DP World Tour after 17 of its players competed in LIV golf events in 2022 without clearance had participated. Garcia was the only player in this group who did not actually pay the fine, which is approximately $126,000.
Since one of the requirements for inclusion in the European team is to be a member of the DP World Tour, Garcia was not eligible to participate or take a leadership role at the time.
Garcia has scored 28.5 points in his 10 Ryder Cup appearances, making him the most successful European player of all time. He holds a career record of 25-13-7. Garcia won 11 times on the PGA Tour and earned his first and only major championship win at the Masters in 2017.
“I think it’s a shame, right?” Rory McIlroy said Garcia, along with Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, lost his Ryder Cup eligibility in May. “I think it’s a shame that there’s the player with the most points in the Ryder Cup and two guys who, when they look back on their careers, probably make a big part of their legacy from the roles they played in the Ryder Cup.” Ryder Cup for Europe. It’s a shame that these three boys won’t become European champions one day.”
While Garcia and other LIV Golf members may be eligible to compete in future Ryder Cups, Garcia will not be in Italy next week depending on how the merger between the three leagues develops.
The Ryder Cup starts on September 28th at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club outside Rome.
