‘We both know what we want’: Sergio Garcia teases Ryder Cup chat with captain Luke Donald

Sergio Garcia’s up-and-down year has seen him through every emotion as he looks to once again pull on the yellow and blue. With a LIV Golf event in his homeland and The Open to follow, he’s ready for a big couple of weeks…

The 2027 Ryder Cup still more than two months away and Sergio Garcia has spent the entire year on an emotional rollercoaster as he vies to play his way back onto the team.

With LIV Golf not awarded points as part of the qualification process, Garcia will rely on a pick from captain Luke Donald for a chance to tee up at Bethpage in September.

In March, Garcia was playing well and his attitude was passionate but cautious. “Obviously, I want to make that team as badly as possible,” he told TG. “But if, for a reason, I don’t make it, it’s still fine. It’s not like my life is going to end.”

But after a solid start to the season, Garcia’s domestic form has dipped, and he fluffed his lines at the majors with a missed cut at Augusta and a tie for 67th at Quail Hollow.

Ahead of the PGA Championship, Donald had given his good friend an almighty boost, saying he “will certainly give a little bit more importance to experience” and “people who have been able to handle those big moments under the most scrutiny”.

Garcia failed that particular audition, though, and afterwards made a rather frank admission.

“The way I’m playing,” he said, “even if Luke offered me a pick right now, I would tell him ‘no’.”

He also played in last week’s BMW International Open – his first start on the DP World Tour since he joined LIV in 2022 – but he failed to make the weekend in Germany.

Now, after qualifying for his “favorite major” through the LIV Golf standings, Garcia has renewed hope of returning to the Ryder Cup, a competition in which he is the highest points scorer of all time.

When asked ahead of LIV’s latest event in Spain if he would now accept a captain’s pick from Donald, Garcia joked: “As of the way I played yesterday, yes.”

He added: “I had a good conversation with Luke last week, and we both know what we want. The only thing I can do is keep working hard, keep building my confidence up, and if I’m able to do that, then it should be fine. So we’ll see.

“The pick is going to be up to him, [but] up to me is going to be the way I play. Obviously, if I play well, I think I have a good opportunity, a good chance of being picked. If I don’t, then it’ll depend a little bit on where I stand or how things are going.

“We’ll see. It’s still early.”

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