Report: Sergio Garcia makes audacious (?) Ryder Cup claim

Sergio Garcia says he has already held brief conversations about succeeding Luke Donald as the European Ryder Cup captain. 

Donald will lead the troops one last time when the matches are played at Bethpage Black on the outskirts of New York this September. 

It is widely assumed that Justin Rose - who skippered Great Britain & Ireland at the Team Cup in January - will take over the reins from the Englishman. 

But Garcia, the record points scorer in the contest, has told Al Arabiya News that he's already held talks about being the skipper. 

"I would love to be playing still," said Garcia when asked about the possibility of being the captain at Adare Manor in two years' time. 

"Obviously there have been some talks or there were some talks about maybe the possibility of me being the captain there. 

"But obviously my focus as of now is on playing and hopefully making a few more Ryder Cups if my game is good enough.

"And when that doesn’t happen, then we can try to focus on other things. 

"But I don't want to think about that until I know that I’m not good enough to be a part of it."

It looked as though Garcia's glittering Ryder Cup career was over when he resigned from the DP World Tour following his switch to LIV Golf. 

Garcia, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell also handed in their cards with their home circuit to avoid paying fines owing to their association with LIV. 

Whilst Westwood and Poulter maintain they have no desire to go back to the DP World Tour, Garcia has had a change of heart.

Garcia - who made a last-ditch attempt to play the Ryder Cup in Italy in 2023 - has now got his DP World Tour membership back. 

He has settled all his fines - thought to be in the region of £1m - and is currently serving a period of suspension before teeing it up again. 

The Spaniard will have opportunities to impress Donald in at least two majors in 2025 as he has been handed a special invitation to play in the PGA Championship. 

He is exempt into The Masters as a former champion. 

Garcia could play his way into the U.S. Open as a direct result of his performances on LIV. 

The R&A is reportedly set to announce exemptions for LIV golfers into The Open which means Garcia may not even need to take part in final qualifying.

Going forward, though, Garcia just wants to play in the 2025 matches. 

Should he be picked or qualify outright for the team, he would match Westwood and Sir Nick Faldo's record of 11 Ryder Cup appearances. 

"It's going to depend on how I play throughout the year," he said.  

"And hopefully, with the amount of tournaments that I’m going to play, hopefully if I play really, really well, I can make it on my own.

"If not, then obviously I will depend on a pick from the captain. But we'll see. 

"The only thing I can do is play the best golf that I can play and then see where that kind of puts me."

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