Sergio Garcia’s latest comments about majors and LIV spark war among golf fans

Sergio Garcia recently stirred up the golf world with comments on his new perspective on major championships and the challenges of competing in the LIV Golf League. After securing his first victory in nearly four years at Valderrama, Garcia urged major championship chiefs to provide more opportunities for LIV Golf players.

Garcia won the playoff against Anirban Lahiri, who missed a critical two-foot par putt on the 54th hole. This marked Garcia’s third playoff victory in the LIV Golf League, and he described it as one of the highlights of his career, emphasizing how tough it is to win on LIV.

“Everyone thought that we’re all retired here and there was no competition,” Garcia said. “I’m practising more than I ever did before at 44, because if I don’t I feel like I’m gonna get stuck behind.”

Some fans on social media remarked that Garcia was close to being left behind on established tours. One fan noted, “Guys like Garcia and Phil [Mickelson] still being competitive on this tour isn’t the flex that they think it is,” while another added, “Not as hard as qualifying for The Open.”

Garcia’s comments on his new perspective on majors also received mixed reactions. Since joining LIV in 2022, he has had to go through qualifying to enter the big four tournaments. He qualified for the 2024 U.S. Open but missed out on the PGA Championship and this week’s Open. He remains exempt at Augusta National.

Reflecting on his experience, Garcia said, “I’ve been very fortunate to play pretty much every single major since the British Open in ’99 until 2023. I only missed the Masters because of Covid. Even though you realize that the majors are super important and it’s what we love to play and stuff, when you get the chance to play in so many in a row, you start forgetting how difficult it actually is to make it into those majors.”

Garcia acknowledged the difficulty of qualifying, stating, “This last year and a half or so, I’ve realized how difficult it is playing qualifiers and stuff like that. One day you hit two bad shots and you’re out. It’s given me definitely a different perspective on the majors, on how much they mean, on how much harder I’m trying when I’m playing them.”

He highlighted his efforts during the U.S. Open and the recent British Open qualifier, noting, “I was trying so hard to have a good week and play well and get in the top 10 so then I would qualify for the next year and things like that. I know even more how hard it is and how important the majors are, and I still want to play as many as I can.”

Looking ahead, Garcia expressed hope for better opportunities. “Hopefully things get better and we start getting spots coming into some of the majors, but if not, I’ll just keep playing qualifiers until my body says enough is enough, I guess.”