Sergio Garcia misses 3-footer, loses chance to play The Open

Sergio Garcia’s missed 3-foot putt cost him a spot in the Open Championship.

Playing Sunday in the final round of the International Series Macau in China, a stop on the Asian Tour, Garcia needed to finish in the top three to qualify for The Open at Royal Portrush. But the miscue on the short putt on No. 18 at the Macau Golf and Country Club left him in fourth place.

Garcia shot a 65.

Instead, Garcia’s fellow LIV golfers Carlos Ortiz of Mexico and Americans Patrick Reed and Jason Kokrak captured the three spots available for The Open, to be held in Northern Ireland on July 17-20.

Had Garcia made the putt, he would have tied Kokrak and advanced based on a tiebreaker.

Garcia, 45, has never won The Open but has been the runner-up twice (2007, 2014). He has played in the event 25 times, making 20 cuts, most recently in 2022. He has 10 finishes in the top 10.

He will have other opportunities to qualify for The Open as the spring progresses.

One of the ways is through his play in LIV Golf. The individual points leader on the LIV circuit following the LIV Dallas event in June will qualify. If that leader is already in the field, the spot in The Open falls to the next eligible player.

Garcia stands third on the individual points list, but the two players ahead of him — fellow Spaniard Jon Rahm and Chile’s Joaquín Niemann — already have qualified.