Rory McIlroy is keen to get LIV Golf rebels back for the 2025 Ryder Cup in the USA after Sergio Garcia tried to fight his way back into contention last year following exclusion.
LIV Golf rebel Sergio Garcia tried to pay his way back into Ryder Cup contention last year but won’t have to in 2025 following Rory McIlroy’s plea.
Garcia joined the breakaway league supported by Saudi Arabia in 2022, which led to him relinquishing his membership with the DP World Tour. This membership is necessary for any player aiming to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup.
The 44-year-old golf player, who won the Masters in 2017 and is well-known in the Ryder Cup, attempted a final effort to be able to compete by suggesting that he could rejoin the DP World Tour and cover his £700,000 penalties for joining LIV.
Garcia contacted him to inquire about rejoining the Tour as a member. He was aware that being a member was necessary to be considered for the European team in Rome.
He was willing to pay his fines and participate in the minimum required tournaments. Although it was not an ideal situation as he would have to play many tournaments in a short period of time.
“The answer was there was no chance. When he told me that there was no point going forward with anything else. I’m not going to make the extra effort if I’m not going to get any love back from them. Pelley said hopefully next year everything will be more favourable for all of us but he did not encourage me to become a member.
“That is a decision I will make with my family and will try to see what is the best thing we can do. At the moment, the feeling is not amazing. We will see where we end up when the new year starts. It is what it is.”
Team Europe went on to beat Team USA in Italy but the former will be handed a major boost in 2025 at the Bethpage Ryder Cup with Garcia and other LIV Golf rebels eligible to play, such as Jon Rahm. “Jon is going to be in Bethpage in 2025,” McIlroy said. “Because of this decision, the European Tour is going to have rewrite the rules for Ryder Cup eligibility. Absolutely. There’s no question about that.”
In 2024, McIlroy has expressed a more positive opinion towards LIV Golf, as major golf tours aim to collaborate and promote unity in the sport after a long period of division. McIlroy believes that golf should aim to establish a World Tour.
According to McIlroy, this tour could be created specifically for the top 80 players globally.
“I believe everything leads up to that one pinnacle. In my perspective, it’s similar to the Champions League in European football.
It’s considered superior to the rest of the leagues, with all other leagues contributing to it, and the best teams competing against each other in the Champions League.
I mentioned this towards the end of last year, everyone has their own agendas in this sport, especially with the current fragmented landscape.”
Attempting to coordinate the interests of all individuals and persuade them that this is the correct course of action for the sport of golf overall. If everyone can be persuaded of this, it would be straightforward.
Currently, the focus is on getting everyone to agree and cooperate.