Sergio Garcia makes major claim after closing out LIV Golf season on podium

Sergio Garcia is hopeful that finishing on the podium in LIV Golf's season-long race could pave the way for more major starts for him in the near future. 

Garcia, 44, finished tied second with Joaquin Niemann and three shots behind his Spanish compatriot Jon Rahm at LIV Golf Chicago.

Rahm, 29, also scooped the season-long Individual Championship finishing ahead of Niemann. 

Fireballs GC captain Garcia narrowly held on to third spot in the individual standings, finishing a solitary point ahead of Rahm's Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton. 

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Garcia, who won his maiden LIV Golf title on home soil at Valderrama in July, was delighted with his season's performance despite coming up shy of a second win in Chicago. 

He also told reporters he thinks some form of 'qualification criteria' could soon be in place to pave the way for LIV Golf players to compete in the majors as a result of their final positions in the standings. 

Nothing has been made official but Garcia has speculated something could be on the cards. 

Garcia told a pool of reporters in Chicago: 

"To finish as high as possible [on the individual LIV Golf standings], it's great, against all these guys that are so good. 

"You never know; hopefully in the near future there's some qualification criteria that that might affect, so to be able to finish as high as possible for the season, it's important.

"If that happens for the majors, then I'm glad that I was able to play that well."

As it stands, LIV Golf League events remain shut out of receiving any Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, making it difficult for a number of LIV Golf players on the circuit to qualify for the four majors. 

The OWGR has ruled against permitting ranking points for LIV Golf as a result of their limited fields and 54-hole format with a shotgun start. 

While Garcia is eligible to always compete in The Masters as a former champion, his status for the other three majors is currently bleak.

Garcia, who missed the cut at The Masters in April, also played in the US Open in June. 

While he narrowly failed to come through a qualifying event for the tournament, he eventually made it through as a first alternate.

Garcia went on to finish T12 at the US Open. 

He failed to come through qualifying for The Open where he ranted at officials, and he also missed out on the US PGA. 

Garcia's Fireballs GC are currently ranked sixth heading into this week's season-ending Team Championship in Dallas.

Next Page: Major champion to lodge appeal after being axed from LIV Golf for 2025