Sergio Garcia suffers Open heartache and continues to pay price for LIV Golf move

LIV Golf’s Sergio Garcia has once again fallen short in his quest to secure a spot in The Open Championship, missing the mark by just two strokes during Final Qualifying at West Lancashire Golf Club on Tuesday.

The Spanish golfer, who was aiming to mark his 100th major championship appearance, faced the challenging 36-hole qualifier with high hopes. Despite an admirable start with a one-under-par 70 in the opening round, Garcia knew he had to push hard in the latter half of the event to clinch a spot.

As the day progressed, Garcia improved his performance with a stronger showing in the afternoon. Yet, his three-under-par total for the week was not enough, leaving him just shy of the qualification cut for Royal Troon later this month. The disappointment was palpable for Garcia, who narrowly missed out on British Open qualification for the second year in a row.

Reflecting on the outcome, the former Masters champion could not conceal his frustration, having come so close to achieving a significant milestone at a beloved tournament. “I was fighting as hard as I could to make it through,” Garcia told the press. “It would have been a dream come true to make The Open my 100th major because I love The Open. Everybody knows how much I love playing here in the UK, and you could see it with the amount of people we had following our group this year and last year,” he shared with the Mirror US.

Garcia has had to navigate the grueling process of qualifying for both the British and US Opens recently, feeling the repercussions of his slip down the rankings after joining LIV Golf. This move has stripped the once-dominant PGA Tour player of his automatic entries into three of golf’s four major championships.

Despite this setback, there remains a silver lining for Garcia: his lifetime invitation to The Masters, thanks to his victory in 2017, guarantees that his 100th major appearance will occur at the prestigious Augusta National next April. “It is a little bit disappointing not to make The Open my 100th major,” Garcia admitted. “But The Masters is not a bad alternative. It would have been nice to be at Troon. The only thing I can do is give it everything I have and see what happens. Unfortunately, I came up a little short, but that is life, and that is golf.”

While the path to major championships has become more challenging for LIV Golf-associated players, the West Lancashire qualifiers offered some bright spots. Majesticks GC’s Sam Horsfield secured his place at Royal Troon, tying for the top position with English amateur Matthew Dodd-Berry, both finishing six-under-par over 36 holes. Additionally, England’s Daniel Brown and Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura clinched the last two qualifying spots.