Sergio Garcia has said he has changed his mind about resigning from the DP World Tour after comments from Jon Rahm as the Spaniard waits to discover his eligibility for the Ryder Cup.
Garcia was one of the first high-profile names to join the LIV Golf Invitational Series. The PGA Tour has indefinitely suspended members who played without permission on the Saudi-backed rival circuit, so he resigned his PGA Tour membership in June ahead of LIV's debut event outside London.
After tying for 68th at The Open Championship last week, Garcia told Spanish media that he would "probably" leave the DP World Tour, which has punished but not indefinitely banned LIV golfers. That came with the understanding that he would become ineligible for selection for future Ryder Cups.
"I want to play where I feel loved, and right now in the European Tour I am not feeling loved," Garcia said at the time.
But according to ESPN on Monday, Garcia said meaningful conversations with members of the tour and recent comments from compatriot Rahm have led him to pump the brakes on a DP World Tour departure.
World No 5 Rahm, whose partnership with Garcia at last year's Ryder Cup was a rare positive from Europe's heavy defeat to the United States, had said it "bothers" him that players like Garcia could be shut out of the Ryder Cup.
"Thanks to the things that Jon Rahm said, and I had a couple of good conversations with guys on the (DP World) Tour, I'm going to hold off on that," Garcia told ESPN. "I want to at least see what's happening when the Ryder Cup qualification starts. See what kind of rules and eligibilities they have in there.
"If I agree with what they (are), I'll definitely keep playing whatever I can on the tour and try to qualify for that Ryder Cup team. And if not, then we'll move on. But it is definitely something that is in my mind."
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Australia's Cameron Smith celebrates with The Claret Jug after winning the 150th Open at the Old Course, St Andrews, on July 17, 2022. PA -
Cameron Smith shakes hands with Cameron Young after their final round of the Open. AP -
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy on the 18th green. -
Cameron Smith celebrates after putting on the 18th green. AP -
Cameron Smith celebrates after making a birdie on the 18th during the final round. Reuters -
Australia's Cameron Smith celebrates with his caddie after making a birdie on the 18th. Reuters -
Cameron Smith holes a birdie putt on the 13th green. AP -
Rory McIlroy celebrates his birdie on the 10th. PA -
Rory McIlroy reacts after missing a putt on the 6th green. PA -
Cameron Young of the United States lines up a putt on the 10th green. Getty -
Norway's Viktor Hovland on the 9th. Reuters -
Cameron Smith after his birdie on the 13th hole. AP -
Cameron Smith celebrates his birdie on the 10th. PA -
McIlroy during day four of The Open at the Old Course, St Andrews. PA -
England's Tommy Fleetwood walks on the 18th. PA -
Cameron Smith, of Australia, after putting on the 5th green. AP -
Rory McIlroy tees off the 6th. PA -
Australia's Cameron Smith celebrates his birdie on the 12th. PA -
Rory McIlroy tees off the 3rd. PA -
Viktor Hovland during day four. Getty
That development does not guarantee that the DP World Tour will try to play nice with LIV Golf and its members.
"I told Keith Pelley (CEO of the DP World Tour), ‘I want to keep being a member of the DP World Tour. I want to play my minimum, still support the tour, still have my eligibilities to make Ryder Cup teams,'" Garcia said. "He said, ‘That's great, but we got to do what's best for us. We'll see what that is.'"
The 2023 Ryder Cup has already been rocked by Henrik Stenson's decision to join LIV Golf last week, which resulted in the Swede being stripped of the European captaincy.
Since 1999, Garcia has been a part of all but one European Ryder Cup team (2010). He has been involved in six winning teams while compiling a career record of 25-13-7. He is the all-time Ryder Cup scoring leader with 28 1/2 points.
