20 February 2024 , 18:27
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Sergio Garcia has outlined his plans to make a return to the DP World Tour in a bid to regain his place on the European Ryder Cup team for 2025.
Garcia became one of a number of European stalwarts to resign from the DP World Tour last year after making the move to LIV Golf. Last April the Tour were given the power to fine and suspend players who made the LIV switch, which led to the likes of Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood handing in their memberships.
This saw all three miss out on being involved in the European Ryder Cup setup at Marco Simone last Autumn, as captain Luke Donald led the home team to an emphatic 16.5-11.5 victory over their American rivals.
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In the build-up to last year's Ryder Cup, Garcia made a last-ditch attempt to earn a spot on Donald's team by settling £700,000 ($1m) in fines he owned to the DP World Tour. The bid proved too little too late for the Spaniard though, as he was still ineligible due to giving up his Tour membership.
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For 2024 though the 2017 Masters champion is hoping to return after stating his intention to regain his DP World Tour card and compete in the minimum four events required of a member. "I am going to be a member again of the European [DP World] Tour," Garcia told the Rick Shiels Golf Show.
Sergio Garcia joined LIV Golf in the summer of 2022 (Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)"I always said that I wanted to - when I joined LIV - keep being a member of the DP World Tour and play my minimum four events and keep my card. Obviously they didn't make it too easy to be able to do that, but one of the reasons why I joined LIV is to play less so I can spend more time with my family."
Regaining this membership and playing his minimum will of course make Garcia eligible to compete in next year's Ryder Cup at Bethpage, and the Spaniard is hopeful he can do enough to earn a recall, with time ticking on his playing days in European colours. "I wanna give myself the best possibility [of playing the Ryder Cup]," he added.
"Only playing a handful events, it is not easy to make it unless you do super, super well. But I guess at the end of the day if I am eligible, they see I am making the effort and I do well with LIV and I am consistent then at least hopefully I can be considered, not only because of my game but what I can bring to the team, and my history in the event."
Despite his 2023 snub, no player has won more Ryder Cup points in the history of the event, with the Spaniard at the centre of Europe's successes over the past two decades. On the back of his rich history in the event, Garcia had been backed as a shoe-in future captain throughout his career.
And despite the recent turbulent period, the Spaniard has not ruled out leading his continent at the event. "At the moment I am not thinking about Ryder Cup captaincy," he commented. "I feel like I can still bring a lot as a player but yes, obviously it is a possibility, we will see what happens."