Former Masters Champion Sergio Garcia Labels DISAPPOINTING 2025 Ryder Cup Snub as Reason for Withdrawal from Irish Open

On Monday, Luke Donald announced the six picks for Team Europe that will compete at the 2025 Ryder Cup. Sergio Garcia was one of the names that were snubbed. The former Masters Champion would later admit that he was left disappointed by this and claimed that this was the reason he withdrew from the Irish Open.

The 45-year-old golfer was hoping to return to this biennial tournament after he missed the 2023 edition due to his ties with LIV Golf. It was revealed earlier this year that Garcia would be eligible for selection.

Following his victory at LIV Golf Hong Kong, the Spaniard sent a message to captain Donald regarding this. He expressed that all he wanted was to help Team Europe win once again.

After this win, his form did dip a bit. He collected just one top-10 finish in the next 8 LIV events which saw him finish 9th in the individual standings. As for the Ryder Cup standings, Garcia finished 140th with just 48.50 points.

Golfers Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, and Matt Fitzpatrick were the 6 captain picks from the European side this season. They would join Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, and Rasmus Hojgaard in the team.

11 out of the 12 golfers who were part of the winning team in 2023 will be representing Team Europe once again. The only change sees Rasmus Hojgaard switching places with his twin brother Nicolai Hojgaard.

This meant that stars like Garcia, Matt Wallace, Marco Penge, and Harry Hall would be the ones who would get snubbed. In an interview with Golf Magic, the 2017 Masters Champion expressed that Donald had already called him two weeks ago and told him that he would not be making the squad.

The call with Luke was fine but not the call I wanted, obviously, but the conversation was fine. Now, the only thing I can do is support the team from home. It’s as simple as that.

Sergio Garcia said

He later revealed that this disappointing snub was the reason why he decided to withdraw his name from the Irish Open this week.

I felt like I was so looking forward to being a part of that team, and so I felt like mentally, you know, mentally it was kind of tough.

Sergio Garcia added