Sergio Garcia Attends Texas Football Game After BMW PGA Withdrawal

LIV Golf player Sergio Garcia was one of the controversial entrants in last week’s PGA BMW Championship at Wentworth, but his appearance was short-lived as he withdrew from the event after the opening round.

The Spaniard shot a four-over par 76 on Thursday. However, he then withdrew from the tournament, only to be spotted in Austin, Texas on Saturday at the Texas v Alabama NCAA football game with his wife and newly named PGA Tour player of the year Scottie Scheffler.

The incident proved controversial because Garcia didn’t give a reason for his withdrawal, leading to suggestions that his brief appearance in the DP World Tour’s flagship event meant another player had to unnecessarily miss the tournament.

The player who would have benefitted had Garcia not teed it up in Surrey was compatriot Alfredo Garcia-Heredia, a fact that was not lost on another Spaniard, John Rahm. The World No.6 also played in the event, finishing tied for second. Ahead of the tournament, he said: “What I don't understand is some players that have never shown any interest in European Tour, have never shown any interest in playing this event, being given an opportunity just because they can get World Ranking points, and hopefully make Majors next year.

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“A perfect example, a good friend of mine is the first one out on the entry list right now, Alfredo [Garcia-Heredia], a good friend of mine from Spain. Because you have players that, you know, might need World Ranking points are given an opportunity that. I don't really agree with, it really, to an extent - I don't know what the word is.”

Rahm then went further, explaining that, in his opinion, Garcia-Heredia had done enough to warrant a place in the field. He said: “It doesn't hurt me but it does bug me that somebody who has played over - I think I looked it up, it's 20 DP World events this year, cannot be given the opportunity to play a flagship event because some people that earned it, to an extent, are being given an opportunity when they couldn't care any less about the event.”

Rahm did go on to say that the likes of Garcia had also earned the right to play. He said: “Yeah, like I said, the likes of Sergio and Westy and Poulter have spent 20-plus years on The European Tour. I don't necessarily think that denying them the entry to some events is a bad thing, but there is some players, I'm not going to name any anybody, but there's some of them that have never shown any interest.”

Nevertheless, given Garcia didn’t complete the tournament, has yet to give a reason for withdrawing, and appeared at a football game in the US while the event was still taking place, it is unlikely his absence from the final two rounds will do anything to help repair the fractures between the LIV Golf players and others, including Rahm.

Garcia is next expected to appear in the latest LIV Golf tournament at Rich Harvest Farms in Chicago on Friday.