Garcia Not Eligible For PGA Championship
Sergio Garcia has missed one major since the 1999 US Open and that was because of Covid three years ago at Augusta. But he will miss next week's PGA Championship as he is no longer eligible.
His world ranking was at No. 68 when LIV Golf got going last July but he is now down to 189th in the world having picked up precious few points in recent months. This year he played in the Masters, where he missed the cut, and his only other two counting events for world-ranking points were a couple of Asian Tour events.
Garcia won the Masters in 2017 for which he was handed a five-year ticket into all the majors but that has now expired and, given that he is now outside the world's top 100, his being a Ryder Cup player from the most recent team no longer counts either.
Of course the PGA Championship was where the Spaniard first came on many people's radars when he played that escape shot from behind the tree at Medinah as he chased Tiger Woods down in 1999. Then he came up just short against Padraig Harrington in 2008 but the PGA has been a bit of a mixed bag for Garcia with 10 missed cuts in 24 starts. Bizarrely he has failed to play the weekend in the past seven PGAs.
There are, though, 18 LIV players in the field for Oak Hill with Paul Casey receiving an invite. The Englishman didn't meet any of the qualifying requirements but he was out injured last year and that appears to have given him the nod for the Rochester event.
Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Bernd Wiesberger also miss out.
The PGA of America chief Seth Waugh spoke earlier in the year about the LIV stars being allowed to play, unlike the current PGA Tour regulations.
“Our decisions are always based on what’s in the best interest of the PGA of America and conducting the best championship possible. Sadly the current division in the professional game is not good for the sport or the future of the game. We hope there might be some resolution soon. In the meantime, as always, our focus will be on our mission to grow the game and improve the lives of our members, who work so hard to impact millions of lives every day.”
There are three previous PGA champions in the field who now play their golf with LIV – Phil Mickelson, who was runner-up at Augusta, Brooks Koepka and Martin Kaymer.
His world ranking was at No. 68 when LIV Golf got going last July but he is now down to 189th in the world having picked up precious few points in recent months. This year he played in the Masters, where he missed the cut, and his only other two counting events for world-ranking points were a couple of Asian Tour events.
Garcia won the Masters in 2017 for which he was handed a five-year ticket into all the majors but that has now expired and, given that he is now outside the world's top 100, his being a Ryder Cup player from the most recent team no longer counts either.
Of course the PGA Championship was where the Spaniard first came on many people's radars when he played that escape shot from behind the tree at Medinah as he chased Tiger Woods down in 1999. Then he came up just short against Padraig Harrington in 2008 but the PGA has been a bit of a mixed bag for Garcia with 10 missed cuts in 24 starts. Bizarrely he has failed to play the weekend in the past seven PGAs.
There are, though, 18 LIV players in the field for Oak Hill with Paul Casey receiving an invite. The Englishman didn't meet any of the qualifying requirements but he was out injured last year and that appears to have given him the nod for the Rochester event.
Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Bernd Wiesberger also miss out.
The PGA of America chief Seth Waugh spoke earlier in the year about the LIV stars being allowed to play, unlike the current PGA Tour regulations.
“Our decisions are always based on what’s in the best interest of the PGA of America and conducting the best championship possible. Sadly the current division in the professional game is not good for the sport or the future of the game. We hope there might be some resolution soon. In the meantime, as always, our focus will be on our mission to grow the game and improve the lives of our members, who work so hard to impact millions of lives every day.”
There are three previous PGA champions in the field who now play their golf with LIV – Phil Mickelson, who was runner-up at Augusta, Brooks Koepka and Martin Kaymer.