- Garcia resigned his membership from DP World Tour in 2022 after joining LIV
- Now he has regained his status at the European-based circuit after paying fines
- The Spaniard plans to use the tour as a route back on to Europe’s Ryder Cup side
Sergio Garcia’s plans to use the DP World Tour as a route back to the Ryder Cup have drawn a scathing response from French golfer Adrien Saddier.
Garcia, who resigned his membership from the European-based circuit last year after his 2022 defection to LIV, has paid fines in excess of £1million as part of an application to regain his status on the DP World Tour for the 2025 season.
Although he will remain with LIV, the Spaniard, 44, is seeking to satisfy the criteria necessary to be eligible for a pick from Luke Donald for next year’s Ryder Cup showdown with the United States in New York.
His form on the breakaway circuit, not to mention his place in history as the event’s leading points scorer, make that a fascination proposition, albeit one that is not universally popular.
He famously fell out with Rory McIlroy on the back of his departure to LIV, though they are now back on speaking terms, and he also left the locker room irate at the BMW International in Munich in 2022, prior to the first LIV event, when he flew into a rage.
He was quoted as saying: ‘This Tour is s***, you’re all f****d’. Bob MacIntyre, who played on Donald’s team in Rome last year, was present and among those left furious.
Sergio Garcia is planning to use the DP World Tour as a route back to the Ryder Cup in 2025
Garcia once famously fell out with Rory McIlroy on the back of his departure to the LIV tour
Now French golfer Adrien Saddier has voiced his displeasure at Garcia’s plans to return to tour
Saddier, a current DP World Tour member, responded to news that Garcia has reapplied to join the Tour with an angry social media post, writing: ‘It hurts my ass to read that he is going to get his category 1 back after all the venom he has spat out.’
Another French pro, Romain Langasque, replied: ‘I can understand. But the tour needs legends like Sergio to survive in the future… and personally, finding myself pairing with him makes me happy.’
Garcia’s fallings out with player’s on the circuit did damage to the Spaniard. Back in June, he admitted his LIV feud with McIlroy left a ‘little hole’ in his life.
Speaking to The Times, Garcia said: ‘I love my friends and I don’t want to lose many.
‘It was very important to me and, I think, for Rory too. It felt like there was this little hole left and we were both a bit sorry for everything that happened.
‘I’m very happy with where we’re headed now and the relationships we are getting back. I just wish it hadn’t taken so long to get here.’
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