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Sergio Garcia’s impending return to the DP World Tour raises some hackles (Stuart Franklin/Getty images)
Sergio Garcia has made his departure from LIV Golf official, and the mercurial 46-year-old Spaniard is trying to strike a gentler tone as he slinks back toward the tours he disparaged on his way out the door four years ago.
“Next season I’ll be playing on the DP World Tour,” Garcia said in his social media announcement. “This tour has been a huge part of my career from the very beginning, and I’m proud to call it home again. I’m also keeping my options open for a return to the PGA Tour.
“And probably the most exciting part for me is strengthening personal relationships, both new and old.”
Also in today’s DD …
Venues play big role in Asia-Pacific Amateur’s story
Masters chairman likes qualifying results from national open initiative
Garcia’s establishment return has struck a nerve in both peers and fans regarding the 2017 Masters champion’s moods that can spin like a weathervane in a tornado. Just two months ahead of his departure to LIV in 2022, hot mics caught a combustible Garcia erupting after being told he was on the clock as he searched for a ball during the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow.
“I can’t wait to leave this tour,” he shouted. “Can’t wait to get outta here. ... just a couple more weeks until I don’t have to deal with you anymore.”
The next month at the DP World Tour’s BMW International event in Germany, Garcia reportedly threw a tantrum in the locker room, shouting: “This tour is sh**, you’re all f***ed, you should have taken the Saudi money.” A couple months later in September 2022, Garcia withdrew without giving a reason after shooting 4-over in the first round of the DPWT’s flagship BMW Championship at Wentworth only to be spotted in fine shape two days later on the field in his U.S. hometown of Austin, Texas, ahead of the Texas-Alabama football game.
His peers, like the unfiltered Eddie Pepperell, haven’t forgotten the disrespect Garcia showed on his way out the door.
Pepperell followed that tweet up with: “To be clear, I think Sergio Garcia is still a wonderful player. He was my favourite golfer growing up, ahead of Tiger. And I can see the value he still brings, ahead of me certainly. But his statement today shows a remarkable lack of self awareness. Like, a stunning amount.”
Garcia is promising to focus not just on his game but “on a strong mindset and my mental health.”
“In golf, everything is earned and nothing is given. Let’s get to work. Vamos! Sergio”.
Garcia said he has big goals even though his 47th birthday is on the horizon in early January, including the Masters where the former champion picked up an official warning from tournament officials after slamming his driver in anger on the second tee during the final round earlier this year.
“There are some great tournaments around the world to play before Augusta next April, and I can’t wait to get back to the Masters,” he wrote. “I left Augusta last year disappointed with myself and my actions, and I’m ready to show what I’ve learned and where I am mentally.
“Augusta has given me some of the greatest moments of my life, and I’d love nothing more than to chase another green jacket at such a special place. I’m excited to get to work and excited to grind.”
Being part of the Ryder Cup is another primary goal for the Spaniard who owns the record for the most points scored (28.5) in Ryder Cup history with a 25–13–7 match record.
“It’s a big year ahead with the Ryder Cup, and I’m going to work my tail off for every chance I can get at more majors and the biggest events in the game. Another goal is to make that Ryder Cup team, and to be an asset to the guys in whatever capacity that may be.”
We’ll soon find out if it’s harder to mend fences than it is tom qualify for majors.
Fifa Laopakdee of Thailand putts on fifth green at the Te Arai Links’ South Course in New Zealand (AAC)
Asia-Pacific Am taps two new future venues
As the 17th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship got underway in New Zealand with defending champion Fifa Laopakdee picking up where he left as the first-round leader, the event’s leadership announced the next two championship will go to Vietnam for the first time and to a new venue in Australia.
Hoiana Shores Golf Club in Hoi An, Vietnam, will play host to the 2027 Asia-Pacific Amateur (Oct. 28-31) while New South Wales Golf Club in Sydney, Australia, will serve as host in 2028 (Nov. 2-5). Each venue will welcome the Asia-Pacific Amateur for the first time.
“We’re thrilled to be taking the AAC to two such outstanding venues,” said Mark Darbon, the chief exective of the R&A.
“We’re very keen to take this championship to emerging nations,” he added of the decision to go to Vietnam. “We talk a lot about the power that these championships have to inspire and excite the next generation, and we think the opportunity at both of the venues we’ve just announced will prove to do just that.”
The Asia-Pacific Amateur has twice been played in Australia at Royal Melbourne in 2014 and 2023. The charming seaside destination at New South Wales will offer a different challenge in 2028.
The par-3 sixth hole at New South Wales looking back toward tee (Daily Drive)
“New South Wales is just a fantastic venue,” said Fred Ridley, the chairman of Augusta National Golf Club which co-founded the Asia-Pacific Amateur. “When we were in Australia the last time, we were able to visit it and play the golf course. It has a long history of staging great championships. And so I think it’s going to really add to the to the stature of this great championship. …
“Just to be able to stage these events at significant venues is really part of the equation and part of what we’re trying to do because most of these young men don’t have the opportunity to play in a championship conducted the way the AAC is conducted and venues that the AAC is conducted on. And so it’s really a remarkable opportunity for them and really just elevates the championship from year to year.”
That is certainly the case this week as the visually stunning Te Arai Links designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw on the north island of New Zealand about an hour outside Auckland. The course and tournament can be seen during three hours of live coverage during each competitive round (2-5 p.m. New Zealand time on ESPN+ and simulcast on AACGolf.com.
“This is one of the most spectacular settings for a golf championship that I’ve ever witnessed in the 50 some-odd years that I’ve been involved in this game,” said Ridley.
Ridley is pleased with qualification’s reach.
For the second straight year, the Masters is offering invitations to the winners of six selected national opens in Scotland, Spain, Japan, Hong Kong, Australa and South Africa, and tournament chairman Fred Ridley remains bullish at the inititative.
So far for the 2027 Masters, first-time qualifiers from the national opens will include American John Catlin (Hong Kong), Japan’s Yusaku Hosono (Japan) and England’s Grant Forrest (Spain). Last year, all six events were won by first-time Masters qualifiers.
“I think that just about all but a couple of the champions to date since we announced that will have participated in their first Masters, so just for them to have that experience, take that back to their home countries is really great,” Ridley said of the national opens that offer spots to both the Masters and Open Championship.
“We are very comfortable with the six national championships we’ve identified and certainly there could be others in the future. But we think that golf has increasingly become an international game and we just feel in any way that we at the Masters Tournament can help promote that, and promoting the game of golf, really, has been part of the culture and the values of the Masters since its inception in 1934.
“So we are very happy with that initiative. We think it’s the right thing to do and certainly is one that we’re going to continue to watch over the next few years.”