Sergio Garcia has been handed a big Ryder Cup blow. (Image: Getty.)
Sergio Garcia has discovered that he can no longer be an assistant captain for Team Europe at the due to his defection.
The 45-year-old was one of several stars to quit for the Saudi-backed breakaway series in 2022, before to the DP World Tour.
Even though the Spanish icon has been permitted to rejoin his home circuit and crucially can play for Europe at Bethpage Black this summer, he is no longer able to be appointed as an assistant to Luke Donald.
He is also not eligible to be an outright captain one day in the future either, despite Donald initially admitting that Garcia had a chance of becoming an assistant in New York.
“The rules will have to change if Sergio is to be an assistant,” Donald later said after the ruling became clear. “So I haven’t thought much about it, because that scenario is not currently allowed.”
In 2018, the Tour brought a new rule into effect that states “players cannot be a European Ryder Cup Captain or a Vice-Captain if they decline membership of the European Tour or fail to fulfil their minimum event obligation in any season”.
Sergio Garcia with Luke Donald. (Image: Getty)
At the time there had not been any concrete discussions concerning the involving themselves in golf, or the LIV Golf tour, ensuring that the rule change went under the radar at the time of its passing.
The rule was introduced rather to stop players from allowing their memberships from expiring in non-Ryder Cup years, as opposed to preventing detractors from becoming captains and assistants.
But after Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter all handed in their tour cards in 2023, they can no longer be employed in managerial positions for Team Europe.
There is a possibility that the rule gets outlawed in negotiations between the PGA Tour, PIF and the DP World Tour, but it is unlikely that any change will take place in time before the 2025 Ryder Cup.
And Garcia, who is the competition’s all-time record points scorer and a close friend to captain Donald, has seen his chances dented as a result if the new world No. 441 fails to qualify or isn’t picked as a wildcard.
He will make his first Tour start in over two years in Bahrain in the hope of earning a 10th Ryder Cup appearance, with among many who feel that he would be a very positive addition to the team.
“I think it would be really stupid of anybody not to lean on Sergio Garcia’s experience in the Ryder Cup,” Rahm said. “I mean, he is the best player Europe has ever had, won the most points and has shown it time and time again. If he were able to be a vice-captain, I absolutely would lean on him.”