Sergio Garcia has withdrawn from this week’s Irish Open, telling GolfMagic that the sting of not being picked for the Ryder Cup led to his decision.
The Spaniard was not among captain Luke Donald’s at-large picks for Team Europe ahead of its showdown against the United States at Bethpage Black later this month.
Donald’s decision was not a huge surprise; Garcia had just one top-10 finish in his final eight LIV Golf events of the 2025 season.
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But it still left some sting, according to the all-time-leading Ryder Cup points-getter and a 10-time participant in the competition.
“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 (to play in the Irish Open),” Garcia told GolfMagic.
“I didn’t want to go there and not be fully engaged in the tournament and stuff, so I just decided to take a little bit of time off and spend it with the family and do a couple of things, you know, some things outside of golf and just kind of reboot a little bit, recharge the batteries.”
One of those things was visiting the US Open – the tennis version – as Garcia watched countryman Carlos Alcaraz beat Jiri Lehecka in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
After the win, Alcaraz said he plans to play golf Wednesday with Garcia, the 2017 Masters champion.
“He has to give me at least between 10 and 15 shots,” Alcaraz said. “It’s going to be great. I’m not that good, Sergio, come on.”
