Sergio Garcia’s explanation for withdrawing from the Irish Open raised eyebrows—including Rory McIlroy’s.
Garcia told Golfmagic, “I felt like I was so looking forward to being a part of that team. And so I felt like mentally, you know, mentally it was kind of tough. I didn’t want to go there and not be fully engaged in the tournament and stuff, so I just decided to take a little bit of time off and spend it with the family and do a couple of things, some things outside of golf and just kind of reboot a little bit, recharge the batteries.”
When McIlroy was asked about Garcia’s comments, he didn’t hide his confusion.
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“No, I don’t [understand why Garcia withdrew],” McIlroy said Wednesday at the Irish Open. “I mean, it would have been great for the tournament if Sergio played, but obviously, he was trying to keep himself sharp, I guess, if he did get a [captain’s] pick. He has the right to enter and pull out of whatever tournaments he wants to. As I said, Luke has assembled a very strong 12 players, and I think the right 12 players, and I’m sure [Garcia’s] disappointed.
“But you know, at the same time, I’m sure he wishes Europe well and wants us to win.”
Garcia, a 45-year-old Spaniard, is the all-time leader in Ryder Cup points. Yet, he hasn’t played in the biennial matches since 2021, before he jumped to LIV Golf.
This year, he won LIV Hong Kong, but missed the cut at the Masters, tied for 67th at the PGA Championship, failed to qualify for the U.S. Open and tied for 34th at the British Open.
Therefore, those lackluster results left Donald deciding to go in a different direction with his six captain’s picks, despite the two being in contact throughout this year.
“Well, I think Sergio is disappointed like all the others that felt like they might have had a chance to make the team,” Donald said at the Irish Open. “Again, I don’t tell people what to do with their schedules unless it’s really close.
“He fully understood that the Irish was after the qualification, after the team was picked. Unfortunately, with Sergio, I felt like his form wasn’t quite good enough to make a team that was full of so many people playing well.”
So instead of teeing it up in Ireland, Garcia will play in the U.S. on Wednesday with fellow countryman Carlos Alcaraz, who is set to face off Friday against Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the U.S. Open.
