LIV Golf’s Sergio Garcia eyes Ryder Cup after settling fines with DP World Tour

After winning another LIV Golf title in Hong Kong, Sergio Garcia received a congratulatory text from one of his long-time friends.

It was from Luke Donald, who also happens to be this year’s Ryder Cup captain.

“He told me that it was great to see another European win out there,” Garcia said on a Tuesday phone call with media.

“We’ve been talking for a while now, and we enjoy talking to each other and seeing what’s going on.”

Back in October, Donald confirmed that Garcia was not eligible for the 2025 Ryder Cup team. But the European captain said that he and Garcia had discussed how to resolve that. Because of his affiliation with LIV Golf, the DP World Tour levied fines against the Spaniard, who, in turn, did not pay them. To play on the European Ryder Cup team, you must be a European citizen and be a DP World Tour member in good standing.

Garcia paid off those fines as of January. He is now Ryder Cup eligible.

“We’re good friends, we’ve been in Ryder Cups together,” Garcia said of Donald.

“He knows what I can bring to the team.”

What Garcia brings to the table is the greatest Ryder Cup record in history. He has won 28.5 points total, five more than Billy Casper, the winningest American in the competition’s history. Garcia also has more experience than all but two Europeans ever, playing in 45 matches across 10 Ryder Cups. Only Nick Faldo and Lee Westwood have played in more.

Should Garcia make it onto this year’s team at Bethpage Black, it would mark his 11th start in a Ryder Cup, thus matching Faldo’s and Westwood’s record. Only Phil Mickelson has played in more with 12.

But what does Garcia have to do to don the blue and gold on Long Island this fall?

“At the end of the day, it’s just about playing good golf and being consistent throughout the year,” Garcia said.

“I’m on his radar, and that’s something great to know. The only thing I can do is keep doing what I’m doing, and keep giving me excuses, if you may call it that way, to have a chance of picking me hopefully when it comes down to the wire.

“So, we’ll see, we’ll see what happens.”

First, Garcia must turn in a good showing at Augusta National, where valuable Ryder Cup points are available. Five thousand points are up for grabs at The Masters this year, with 835 points going to the winner (this same formula applies to all four majors for European players). Playing well is a tall task, however. Garcia has missed five of his last six cuts at Augusta, dating back to his win in 2017. But the Spaniard’s form over the past nine months has vastly improved. DataGolf lists him as the 27th best player in the world as of right now.

“It’s the drive to keep trying to improve, to try to keep getting better. I think that’s important. We always work hard on our games, but I think I’m working hard and working better at it. So that’s very important when it comes down to your game,” Garcia said when asked why he is playing so well at 45 years old.

“And physically, I’ve been blessed with a body that, you know, it might not be the strongest in the world, but it holds on very well. I haven’t had to have many breaks in my career because of injuries. So I think that that keeps your momentum going. If you’re playing well, all of a sudden you get injured and you, you can’t play for like 4 or 5 months, it kind of, it’s, it’s hard to keep going because of injuries. Then your body doesn’t move the same way and things like that.

“So I’ve been very lucky and very blessed with that, and I think that’s why I’m still performing at my age.”

He will need to continue to perform well beyond Augusta if he wants to make it to Bethpage.

The biggest issue Garcia faces right now is that he is only eligible for the PGA Championship besides the Masters. The PGA of America awarded Garcia a special invitation to compete at Quail Hollow this year, thanks to his strong showing on LIV Golf and other global events. But a missed three-footer this past week in Macau kept him from receiving an invite to Royal Portrush for The Open, what Garcia called his “favorite major.”

He has other opportunities to qualify for The Open and U.S. Open, but it will be no easy task. Still, Garcia has the pedigree, experience, and talent to do just that, and if he can make it into those fields, who knows how many Ryder Cup points he can earn. And if he does make it on the European team, the Americans should watch out, because nobody has a better record than Garcia.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.