Sergio Garcia announces post-LIV plans — and expresses Masters regret | News
Masters champion Sergio Garcia said Thursday he’s officially returning to the DP World Tour and added he’s open to rejoining the PGA Tour in the future.
Garcia, 46, was among the first batch of notable pros to leave the PGA Tour for LIV Golf in 2022, but amid LIV’s recent bankruptcy Garcia had successfully asked a judge to terminate his LIV contract.
“Next season I’ll be playing on the DP World Tour,” Garcia wrote in a social media post. “This tour has been a huge part of my career from the very beginning, and I’m proud to call it home again. I’m also keeping my options open for a return to the PGA Tour.”
While the 2017 Masters champion had previously resigned from the DP World Tour, he applied for reinstatement in November 2024 and also paid a fine. He would have to serve a suspension before returning to the PGA Tour.
There is, of course, irony in Garcia’s post Thursday, which was not lost on social media commenters. Pro Eddie Pepperell even tweeted: “This has to be Sergio trolling us?”
In Garcia’s final PGA Tour start before leaving for LIV Golf, he argued with a rules official over the time allotment for a lost ball at the 2022 Wells Fargo Championship and was caught on camera saying things such as “I can’t wait to leave this Tour,” “I can’t wait to get out of here,” and “just a couple more weeks until I don’t have to deal with you anymore.” (The PGA Tour later said the referee had mistimed Garcia’s search.)
A month later, at the DP World Tour’s BMW International, The Telegraph reported another Garcia rant after LIV players were banned from the Scottish Open and fined for competing in conflicting events. An anonymous player told The Telegraph: “Sergio flew off the handle, shouting, ‘This tour is s—, you’re all f—–, should have taken the Saudi money.” The player added that Bob MacIntyre was a witness and was “disgusted,” and while MacIntyre declined to comment to The Telegraph, he did tweet during tournament week: “Amazing how fast you can lose respect for someone that you’ve looked up to all your life.”
Garcia won twice while at LIV Golf and was captain of the Fireballs GC team. He’s just one of a handful of notable names — along with Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Ian Poulter, Louis Oosthuizen and David Puig — who have recently announced they will not be joining LIV 2.0, which is planning 10 events next year but is currently working its way through Chapter 11 bankruptcy and trying to secure players for 2027. Several of the departures have come after the DP World Tour announced LIV players could no longer also compete on the DP World Tour, making them ineligible for the Ryder Cup.
Garcia hasn’t finished in the top 10 of a major in nine years — since his 2017 green jacket — but did make headlines at last year’s Masters after he damaged a tee box and snapped his driver. He was issued a code-of-conduct warning and apologized a couple of days later. He brought up the incident again in Thursday’s announcement, saying he’s looking forward to returning to the Masters and that he “left Augusta last year disappointed with myself and my actions, and I’m ready to show what I’ve learned and where I am mentally.”
Another part of Garcia’s announcement on Thursday read: “probably the most exciting part for me is strengthening personal relationships, both new and old.”
He added that making the European Ryder Cup team is among his goals for 2027.
“Let’s get to work,” the statement finished.
