Sergio García pulls out of the much-anticipated Irish Open after ‘devastating’ feeling of missing out on Ryder Cup Team Europe as captain’s pick. The 45-year-old Ryder Cup record points leader revealed the snub hit him hard and made it tough to compete fully at this moment in time.
Sergio Garcia explains his decision to withdraw
With 28.5 points, Sergio García has more Ryder Cup points than any player, all time (he is 25-13-7 in matches), and he admitted the absence cut him deep for this European team. While respectful in tone, the conversation with Captain Luke Donald was “not positive,” he said.“I felt like I was so looking forward to being a part of that team, and so I felt like mentally, you know, mentally it was kind of tough,” García told reporters. “I didn’t want to go there and not be fully engaged in the tournament, so I just decided to take a little bit of time off and spend it with the family, reboot a little bit, recharge the batteries.” He also mentioned to GolfMagic, “The call with Luke was fine but not the call I wanted, obviously, but the conversation was fine.”He also expressed support for the team from afar, adding, “Now, the only thing I can do is support the team from home. It’s as simple as that. I’ll be watching and cheering on the European team.”Also Read: Keegan Bradley leaves himself out and finalizes U.S. Ryder Cup team
Ryder Cup snub and its wider impact
The ovation for Sergio Garcia and his absence at the K Club in County Kildare comes just days after captain Luke Donald revealed his six captain’s picks: Ludvig Åberg, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, and Sepp Straka. They were joined by automatic qualifiers such as Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, and Tyrrell Hatton, along with rookie Rasmus Højgaard.Of those, García has been banned from accruing enough points for an automatic bid for the Ryder Cup due to his recent signing with LIV Golf, one of several reasons for his omission. He played his way back onto the DP World Tour, travelling the circuit in an effort to reacquaint himself with the game to see if he could play his way back onto the Ryder Cup team, only to have his play deemed not good enough for a captain’s pick.
Irish Open field still packed with talent
Despite a deep field at the Irish Open, two marquee names are absent this week: Sergio García and reigning champion Rasmus Højgaard, who opted out due to scheduling conflicts ahead of the BMW PGA Championship.Nevertheless, there is an attractive if not unbeatable cast for the tournament with recent Open champion Rory McIlroy, Pádraig Harrington, Shane Lowry, Brooks Koepka, and others. Without Garcia in the field, it is now up to the European stars to get things going ahead of the Ryder Cup.
