Inside Sergio Garcia’s complicated (and expensive) Ryder Cup decision

The 2025 Ryder Cup press conference with captains Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald in New York earlier this week was a formal affair. The event was held to mark the nearly 12 months until Team USA faces Team Europe at Bethpage Black next fall. However, buried within the presser came a lot of intrigue about a certain Ryder Cup legend: Sergio Garcia.

We didn’t expect to hear news about Garcia, LIV’s 390th ranked golfer in the world, but that’s because there’s a lot of smoke in the game right now. You have to go through it. Garcia has played as one of the best players in the world for most of 2024 – DataGolf ranks him 22nd – and will benefit Europe by playing. At least he could have served as vice-captain. But he has some work to do first.

Garcia’s name came up during the press conference in a very obvious way: What does Sergio Garcia need to do to have a chance to join the team? Donald offered information we didn’t know before: that the European captain has been in contact with Garcia in recent weeks, and that the Spaniard is considering taking steps to rejoin the DP World Tour, a necessary step if Garcia has any hope of playing. Donald the following fall.

“First of all, he obviously resigned his membership a few years ago,” Donald said Tuesday. “But we had some discussions. He is thinking of joining again. He will have to follow all the rules and regulations like everyone else, and if he does that again, he will be eligible to participate in the Ryder Cup. “

A natural follow-up question came a few minutes later. Do you think that is a serious choice?

“Yes, we talked on the phone a few weeks ago,” said Donald. “You know, it’s really interesting to do that. He understands all that is involved, and, the decision should go to him, whether he is ready to do all that.”

Most golf fans have been made aware of the Ryder Cup’s accessibility rules in recent months, as Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton have adjusted their schedule (and filed appeals) to play at least four tournaments in the DPWT in order to maintain membership for 2025. The only way to qualify for a Ryder Cup team is to first become a member.

Garcia’s plight is similar but different. The 44-year-old was among a number of LIV players who were members of the DPWT and were fined for taking part in tournaments without a conflict of interest release form. Garcia was one of the only LIVers who stubbornly refused to pay those fines, eventually resigning his DP membership in 2023. In order for him to regain membership, those fines must first be paid, a decision that has already been decided by an arbitration judge.

If Garcia does apply for membership (his agent did not respond to a request for confirmation), he can credit his ex for making the process easier. Due to being ranked fourth on the DPWT career money list – and because he has won several times in the DPWT (including a major) – Garcia will qualify using the Legends category. While Garcia’s reinstatement appears to be about playing one specific event next September, the Legends classification will allow him to easily enter almost any DPWT event he wants to play… a similar appeal to what his LIV teammates, Hatton and Rahm, are doing this summer .

It’s that last point that sticks the most. Garcia is contracted to play the full 2025 LIV Golf schedule, which will include 14 tournaments from February to September. Depending on how the events are placed on the calendar – LIV’s schedule has not yet been finalized – Garcia will have to serve a 14-week DPWT suspension and pay 14 weeks of fines. As it stands, members who compete in LIV Golf during weeks when the DPWT hosts the event receive a £100,000 fine.

In short, it will cost Garcia a lot of money to make this Ryder Cup reality a reality, but it seems like it’s something he’s willing to do. James Corrigan reported The Telegraph in 2023 that Garcia was ready and willing to repay his fines with a place in the Ryder Cup held in Rome. That figure, says Corrigan, has reached £700,000. LIV has introduced the concept of paying fines to its players. Bob Harig reported Sports Illustrated that LIV approached the DPWT about paying Jon Rahm’s fines, but was denied.

In the end, if this saga plays out the way Garcia seems to want it to, it will be up to him to find one of Captain Donald’s six options. The Ryder Cup Europe recently announced the eligibility criteria, which does not consider any play in LIV Golf. Garcia has been a standout at LIV events this year, winning once and finishing second three times. How does that measure up to Donald? We will have to wait and ask him as the results will be out next summer.

Garcia can do better in the big leagues, but that will start with him finding in the middle in major tournaments. As a former Masters champion, Garcia will have a tee time at Augusta in April, but no other majors are guaranteed to be part of his schedule. He will be relying on an invitation from the PGA Championship or advance to the finals to qualify for the US Open and Open Championship. He hasn’t finished in the top 10 since winning the Masters in 2017.