Luke Donald Has Say On Sergio Garcia Ryder Cup Situation

Luke Donald leads Team Europe in the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone with a new-look team, thanks partly to the absence of previous regulars because of their involvement with LIV Golf.

One of those players is Sergio Garcia. Back in May, Garcia revealed Donald had told him he had ‘no chance’ of making the team, and, sure enough, he was not among his six wildcard picks for the match.

That wasn’t surprising given Garcia had resigned from the DP World Tour by then, effectively ending his Ryder Cup career. However, fellow Spaniard Jon Rahm, who does play this week, said it would be "stupid" not to lean on his experience.

Nevertheless, speaking to the media before the biennial match, Donald insisted he couldn’t consider Garcia after he severed his ties with the DP World Tour in the wake of it winning its legal battle against LIV golfers.

Donald is making final preparations ahead of the match, and said: “Obviously we know the situation with Sergio. He resigned his situation five months ago, and once that happened, he was ineligible for me to even consider him."

Donald, who has been paired with Garcia in several matches over the years, also addressed the news that the Spaniard had made a late Ryder Cup bid by trying to rejoin the DP World Tour. He continued: "I know there was some stories about him trying to pay off some fines and stuff. Obviously we know what the DP World Tour rules are, and once you resign, can you not reapply for membership until the following year.”

“Right now I'm just concentrating on my 12 guys that I have this week. My sole focus is dealing with those guys over the next six days and giving them the best opportunity for success.”

While Donald will need to plot a route to victory without the Ryder Cup’s record points scorer, he admitted he’s confident he’s found the right balance in the 12 players he has to call on. On the subject of his wildcard picks, Donald explained what factors he considered.

He explained: “You know, a mixture of really in-form players and a mixture of some guys that had experience,” he explained. “But you also wanted to look at the six who are also automatically qualified and try to be able to find some pairings within those through statistics and through personality matchups.

“And then lastly, you're looking at what the course demands and people who have been successful on the golf course, as well. There's a lot that went into it and very happy with the six that I went with in the end.”

As for Europe’s chances of victory, Donald admitted though he is confident, it will be difficult. He said: “As captain, you have to be confident. I certainly have a lot of belief in my team.

“I know it's going to be a difficult next few days, it really is. The US are very strong. We know that. We are coming off our worst defeat ever in a Ryder Cup. US players are strong, high up in the world rankings and they have some great partnerships and have had a lot of success.

“We have our work cut out but as I said, you have to have belief in your team that you're going to get them into a place where they are going to be successful.”