Sergio Garcia leaving DP World Tour after joining LIV Golf
It's well known at this point that members of the PGA Tour have a very negative view of golfers who defect to join the Saudi Arabia-funding LIV Golf league. Apparently, the DP World Tour in Europe has a very similar attitude — and it isn't making Sergio Garcia feel welcomed.
The 42-year-old pro and former Masters champion told reporters after The Open Championship concluded on Sunday that he plans to leave the DP World Tour because he "doesn't feel loved."
"I am quite clear about what I am going to do with the European circuit. Probably leave it," Garcia told reporters in Spanish. "I want to play where I feel loved, and right now in the European Tour I am not feeling loved."
Garcia has already resigned from the PGA Tour to play in the LIV Golf league, which features fewer events and no cuts. The nature of the league means it also doesn't qualify for a world ranking, which can keep participating golfers from competing in several major events, including the Ryder Cup.
"If I cannot play any more major, that's the way it is, but it is not something that bothers me a lot," Garcia continued, via ESPN. "I am feeling sad because of the Ryder Cup but right now in the way I am playing I won't be selected."
Much like Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas have become the PGA Tour figureheads for speaking out against LIV Golf, DP World Tour pro Thomas Bjorn has been its critic on the European circuit. Garcia went so far as to say that Bjorn told him to his face that other golfers "didn't love him" because he chose to play for the Saudi-funded league.
"That's not pretty," Garcia continued. "I have given more than half my life to the European Tour and I wanted to continue playing it, but I am not going to be where they don't want me."
The Spaniard turned pro in 1999. He has 11 PGA Tour victories and 20 international wins to his name. His last big win was at The Masters in 2017.
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