Exclusive: Sergio Garcia did not follow through with his Ryder Cup claim
Sergio Garcia has not applied to re-join the DP World Tour despite the Spaniard telling the Rick Shiels podcast that he was going to.
Sergio Garcia did not follow through with the claim he was going to regain his DP World Tour membership to save his Ryder Cup career.
The Spaniard, 44, went on the Rick Shiels podcast and told the YouTube golf sensation he wanted to get his DP World Tour card back.
The podcast was recorded last November but uploaded to Shiels' channel this week, prompting confusion as to whether Garcia was true to his word.
Garcia explained he wanted to play on the DP World Tour at least four times in 2024, the minimum number required for membership.
And that would've allowed Europe's record Ryder Cup points scorer back into the fold, potentially as a player for the 2025 contest in New York.
Garcia resigned from the DP World Tour last May after sanctions imposed by the European-based circuit to LIV golfers were upheld.
Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Richard Bland also joined Garcia in quitting their home circuit.
They challenged the circuit's right to impose huge fines for competing in LIV Golf events without tournament releases.
In truth it was a sad end but it was pointed out to them by DP World Tour their sanctions 'were a consequence of their own choices'.
GolfMagic has been told Garcia did in fact miss the 19 November 2023 deadline to apply to regain his DP World Tour membership.
A spokesperson for the DP World Tour told GolfMagic:
Why Garcia had a change of heart it remains to be seen.
It is also not clear if Garcia has paid the fines he incurred for playing in LIV events whilst a DP World Tour member.
Telegraph Sport claimed last September that Garcia had a total of £700,000 fines to pay.
The aforementioned Westwood and Poulter confirmed at LIV Golf London in 2023 they had settled their debts.
Garcia has scored a record 28½ points for Europe in the Ryder Cup.
Just before the 2023 contest in Italy, of which Luke Donald's Europe won by five points, it emerged Garcia made a last-ditch effort to play.
The Telegraph claimed Garcia offered to pay his fines if he could be considered for selection.
An insider told the paper: "They [Garcia's team] suddenly came to us and said that not only would he pay the £100,000 but also all of the outstanding fines if was allowed to play
"They also said they'd play in whatever events we wanted, apart from those that clashed with the remaining LIV tournaments.
"But it was explained that, despite the ongoing peace talks, as he had resigned his membership, he is not eligible to join until next year.
"It was all a bit bizarre as that was made clear all along.
"As it is, Sergio remains the only one of the LIV players not to have paid the original £100,000 fine. Lee Westwood has paid, Ian Poulter has paid… but Sergio still hasn't."
For his part Garcia acknowledged the report was true, saying: "The answer was there was no chance.
"When he [Keith Pelley, DP World Tour chief executive] told me that there was no point going forward with anything else.
"I'm not going to make the extra effort if I'm not going to get any love back from them.
"Pelley said hopefully next year everything will be more favourable for all of us but he did not encourage me to become a member.
"That is a decision I will make with my family and will try to see what is the best thing we can do.
"At the moment, the feeling is not amazing. We will see where we end up when the new year starts. It is what it is."
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Ben joined GolfMagic as Content Executive in September 2021 just before the Ryder Cup and has contributed significantly to the growth of the site. Ben now assumes our Content Manager role, specialising in PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf content.
