September 4, 2025

Sergio Garcia, the golf maestro with the most Ryder Cup points ever (28.5!), has stunned fans by pulling out of the famous Irish Open. Why? A 'devastating' feeling after not being chosen as a captain’s pick for Ryder Cup Team Europe by Luke Donald. The 45-year-old, who boasts a record of 25-13-7 in Ryder Cup matches, opened up about how deeply the snub hurt him. “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,” Garcia told reporters. The talk with Captain Luke Donald was respectful but “not positive,” he said, explaining the mental block it caused. “I didn’t want to go there and not be fully engaged in the tournament, so I just decided to take a little bit of time off and spend it with the family, reboot a little bit, recharge the batteries.” He also told GolfMagic, “The call with Luke was fine but not the call I wanted, obviously, but the conversation was fine.” Despite missing out, Sergio expressed his support: “Now, the only thing I can do is support the team from home. It’s as simple as that. I’ll be watching and cheering on the European team.” This news comes right after Luke Donald announced his six captain's picks: Ludvig Åberg, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, and Sepp Straka. Joining them are automatic qualifiers like Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, and rookie Rasmus Højgaard. However, Garcia’s recent move to LIV Golf blocked him from earning enough points for automatic qualification. Trying hard to reclaim his spot, he played on the DP World Tour but couldn’t impress enough for a captain’s pick. Meanwhile, the Irish Open still shines with stars like Rory McIlroy, Pádraig Harrington, Shane Lowry, and Brooks Koepka. Reigning champ Rasmus Højgaard skipped due to schedule clashes, and now without Garcia, the onus is on Europe’s best to fire up ahead of the Ryder Cup showdown.

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Tags: Sergio garcia, Irish open, Ryder cup, Luke donald, Golf, European team,