LIV Golf star outlines Ryder Cup plan after major Sergio Garcia influence

22 September 2023 , 10:00

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David Puig has set his sights on making a Ryder Cup team in the future

David Puig has set his sights on following in the footsteps of Sergio Garcia, Jon Rahm and Seve Ballesteros in becoming Spain's next star at the Ryder Cup.

Puig made the decision to turn professional 12 months ago at the age of 20, but opted to take a different route into the world of pro golf. The Spaniard decided to kick off his career with the LIV Golf setup after signing on the dotted line with Greg Norman and co last September.

One year on the Spaniard has returned to the place where it all began as a pro, as he tees it up at Rich Harvest Farms for LIV Chicago. The 12th LIV event of the season comes just one week before the Ryder Cup, when Team Europe host their American rivals in Italy.

Only one man from the Saudi-backed league will compete in the matchplay event, with Brooks Koepka earning his spot in Zach Johnson's U.S. team after a fine year in golf's four majors. Europe however are without any LIV players, something Puig hopes will be changing in the near future.

Despite his professional career being just 12 months old, the youngster has been tipped as one of Spain's next big stars, a nation that has not been short of golfing talent, especially at the Ryder Cup. Two of Europe's greatest players in Ballesteros and Garcia proved to be trailblazers for European golf, and this has since been continued by world No. 3 Rahm.

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And one man who is looking to continue this legacy on further is Puig. Quizzed on whether making the Ryder Cup was an aim of his, he told Mirror Sport: "For sure. Playing Ryder Cup is goal for every player from Europe and the U.S."

However, things are slightly more complicated for the 21-year-old following his path into professional golf. Having joined LIV last September, Puig is without a DP World Tour card amid the recent dispute between the sport's leading tours.

This means - like Garcia, who resigned his membership in May - Puig is currently ineligible to make the European team. But change appears to be around the corner.

David Puig joined LIV Golf professionally last September

In June, the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) announced they had reached a framework agreement that would see the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV work in harmony. This is set to allow Puig and co the chance to get their hands on a Tour membership, thus giving him the green light to begin his quest to complete his Ryder Cup dream.

For the 21-year-old, unity in the world of golf could not come quick enough. "For me I always wanted to play the Ryder Cup and I still do. It is one of the goals that I have, especially coming from Spain," he added. "Hopefully these problems get sorted soon, and hopefully coming up next year for the majors and the next year for the team sport [Ryder Cup], this can be resolved and we can all play together."

Spain have not be low on Ryder Cup talent (Getty Images)

Amid his background, Puig is no stranger to Spain's two big names in Garcia and Rahm. The youngster plays alongside Garcia on the LIV circuit and described his fellow countryman as a "role model" after offering him plenty of support in his maiden year as a pro. His relationship with Rahm is a good one too.

Both played their college golf at Arizona State University, and also share the same coach. Hailing his fellow Spaniard, he added: "I tend to see Jon quite a bit, not as much as I'd like, but quite a bit... I know a lot about Jon and how hard he works, and how much he does for the game and Spain as well."

With Garcia's Ryder Cup playing career appearing to be coming to an end, Puig could well be the perfect fit to replace the 2017 Masters champion as Rahm's trusty partner further down the line.

Joshua Lees