Sergio Garcia admits he’s hopeful of a return as Europe’s Ryder Cup captain

Sergio Garcia is hopeful that golf’s shock merger has re-opened the door for him to serve as Europe’s Ryder Cup captain.

Although the Spaniard accepts there is ‘no chance’ of him making this autumn’s match in Italy, the prospects of a LIV rebel one day assuming the captaincy are among the unknowns thrown up by the new unified front between the DP World Tour, the PGA Tour and the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

When asked if the ever-evolving saga might pave the way for him to fill the post, the 43-year-old, who is the record points scorer in Cup history, said: ‘You would think so, but until things are finalised we don’t know. You would think so but you never know.

‘Things change quickly and I know that they don’t want me to be a part of the Ryder Cup and it’s sad.’

The barriers to reintegration remain numerous. Primarily, none of the LIV golfers who resigned their membership, including Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, could occupy the position without successfully re-applying, which has seemingly wiped out a generation of captains.

Sergio Garcia revealed that he was ‘caught by surprise’ over LIV Golf’s merger with the PGA

LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, a former PGA Tour star, has been fighting for his tour’s survival 

In Garcia’s case, he would first need to pay the outstanding £100,000 fine he incurred following the European’s circuit’s arbitration victory over LIV in April. 

There is also a regulation in the DP World Tour rules that prevent the captaincy going to anyone who has previously terminated their membership, though a change to that requirement cannot be ruled out amid the shifting sands of the golf landscape.

There are figures within European golf who want to see Garcia returned to the fold, most notably Jon Rahm, but his fall-out with Rory McIlroy would currently make any reintegration seem unlikely.

Garcia said: ‘(Rahm) definitely does (want him involved). I think there’s others that do but there’s a handful of guys that don’t and they hold most of the power and that’s what it is.’

Garcia, who came through qualifying to contest this week’s US Open, admitted he was caught off guard by last week’s announcement of a merger and is among those who is unsure what it will mean for the LIV tour.

He said: ‘I wish I could tell you I knew I did but not. It caught me by surprise too. I think it’s a good thing for all of us and for the game of golf at the end of the day, but there’s so many details that are not settled yet. And you know, there’s really not much to talk about until that happens, I guess. 

Garcia, pictured in the 2021 Ryder Cup, is the record point scorer in the competition’s history

‘You want to speculate I can speculate (on future of LIV) but I do not know. We are going to keep going obviously this year the same way it’s going but I guess in the next in the next few months, we’ll know exactly what happens going forward. I don’t think they (the LIV hierarchy) know either.’

Despite the likelihood of a pathway back to the PGA Tour for those defected, it appears unlikely that Garcia would choose to substantially add to his schedule. 

He said: ‘It’s 14 events with LIV. Three or four majors. Maybe a couple others and I’m playing 20 events.

‘I don’t need to play any more than that – 18, 20 events is ideal. That was one of the biggest reasons why I went there. Obviously there were others but that was one of them. And my mind doesn’t change on that aspect. I wouldn’t be adding five, six or seven PGA events.’