Over the past two seasons, Sergio Garcia has been one of the best players on LIV Golf. While consistently competing against stars in their prime such as Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, the 45-year-old has won twice in that time, matching Rahm's total (two) and surpassing that of DeChambeau (zero).
DataGolf also ranks Garcia as the 27th-best player in the world (he is ranked 380th in the Official World Golf Ranking, which does not include LIV Golf results). However, Garcia is only currently eligible to play in two major championships this season.
While speaking at a press conference ahead of next week’s LIV event at Trump Doral in Miami, Garcia spoke about his desire to play in more majors and his chances to contend in them.
“Yeah, obviously, my chances get a little better if I have four chances instead of two that I have at the moment,” Garcia said.
Last week, the former Masters champion had a chance to qualify for the British Open at the International Series Macau but missed a short putt on the 18th hole to miss the spot by one shot.
“It’s my favorite major. I was very close in Macau, but unfortunately, I fell short,” Garcia said. “I’ll just keep trying. I’m going to use every option that I have.”
For now, Garcia is set to play in the Masters on his past-champion status and the PGA Championship on a special exemption. But he could earn spots in the U.S. and British Opens if he is atop LIV’s points list before those majors, thanks to new criteria announced by the USGA and R&A. Garcia is third in points currently behind Joaquin Niemann and Rahm.
The Spaniard has competed in 99 major championships and is set to reach his 100th major start in two weeks at Augusta National. Since his polarizing move to LIV Golf in 2022, Garcia has participated in just eight of the 12 majors held as his world ranking has plummeted. Now, Garcia aims to savor every moment in golf's biggest events.
“I want to enjoy the majors as much as I can, because, you know, I’ve realized how difficult it is to qualify for them, you know, when you’re not in the top 15 in the world, like I was lucky enough to be for pretty much 90% of my career,” said Garcia, who won earlier this month at LIV Hong Kong. “So, you know, when it comes down to those majors, and I’m playing them, I want to first of all enjoy them as much as possible and then try to play as well as possible.”
Garcia also believes he can compete with the best players on the biggest stages, attributing his strong play over the past two seasons to an improved mental game.
“I feel like my game is in good shape. I feel like mentally I’ve improved a lot in the last few years, but mostly in the last year, year and a half,” Garcia said. “I’ve always loved playing golf, but I’m really enjoying it the last year, year and a half.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sergio Garcia Not Giving Up Hope of Playing in All Four Majors in 2025.
