Sergio Garcia has been fined by the DP World Tour for failing to provide a medical explanation for his BMW PGA Championship withdrawal in September, a Tour spokesperson told Golf Digest.
The Spaniard withdrew from the flagship event at Wentworth after an opening round 76 before jetting to Austin, Texas to attend an NCAA football game with his wife and recently-crowned PGA Tour player of the year Scottie Scheffler.
The former Masters champion has failed to provide "medical evidence deemed reasonable" as required by the DP World Tour's General Regulations Handbook and therefore issued a financial penalty. It is Tour policy not to disclose the monetary amount.
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Garcia's latest misdemeanour caps off what has been a turbulent year for the Spaniard. After months of speculation, his switch to the Greg Norman-fronted LIV Golf Series was finalised ahead of the inaugural event at Centurion Club in June.
Weeks prior, the former Masters champion gave an indication on his impending decision at the Wells Fargo Championship when he declared that he couldn’t “wait to leave this Tour” after an incident with a rules official before he resigned from the PGA Tour. Less than a month later, he declared that "this tour [DP World Tour] is s***, you're all f****d" in a reported locker room incident at the BMW International Open in Munich.
His actions have been met with criticism from his peers, with DP World Tour pro Robert MacIntyre claiming it's "amazing how fast you can lose respect for someone that you’ve looked up to all your life." In a Golf Monthly exclusive, it was revealed that the relationship between the Spaniard and Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy has completely broken down after the former's decision to join the Saudi-backed circuit, with one source claiming it has "turned personal."
It would now seem that Garcia, who is Europe's all-time leading points scorer in the Ryder Cup, is set to be exiled from the tournament ahead of the 2023 edition at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome. He has missed the deadline to enter next week's Mallorca Open and as a result, falls short of the minimum number of events he is required to have played in order to retain his DP World Tour membership.
The 16-time DP World Tour winner holds honorary life member status and it is believed he can still play in events he is exempt for prior to the court review next year. That said, any points would not count toward the DP World Tour or Ryder Cup rankings.
Garcia is set to tee it up in LIV Golf's seventh event at Jeddah ahead of the $50m knockout Team Championship finale at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami.
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