Sergio Garcia will return to Augusta National for his 100th major championship in two weeks.
After winning in 2017, Garcia has struggled since donning the green jacket, making just one cut, a T23 in 2022. However, the five missed cuts would be concerning to a Garcia fan.
The importance of his 26th Masters goes beyond winning or losing. He needs to play well to boost his confidence and show that at 45, he still has the game to help a European Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black.
“Augusta is super important for many reasons—because it’s Augusta, because it’s the Masters, because it’s a major, and because of the points you can get toward the Ryder Cup,” Garcia said in a conference call on Tuesday. “Miami is a good preparation for Augusta, and there’s nothing better than competition to get ready for a major.”
Miami is the LIV event on the Blue Monster at Doral, and Garcia enters the fifth event of the LIV Golf League season, playing some of his best golf in recent memory.
Starting the season with a T6 in Riyadh, he followed it up with a T18 in Adelaide before winning the second time in his LIV career in Hong Kong.
“it’s the drive to keep improving,” Garcia said of why his game has continued to stay competitive. “I’m still trying to get better. I think that’s important. We always work hard on our games, but I think now I’m working not just hard, but better at it. That’s very important when it comes to your game.”
Garcia has also been lucky with his health, never losing much time to injury.
“When you get injured and have to stop playing for four or five months, it’s hard to keep momentum,” Garcia continued. “Your body doesn’t move the same, and it’s tough to stay sharp. I’ve been lucky in that sense, and I think that’s why, at my age, I can still perform the way I’ve been performing.”
With the sands in his career hourglass lessening daily, Garcia, playing in his 27th year, knows his time is getting shorter to not play professional golf but to be competitive.
Trying to make the European Ryder Cup team will not be easy in the best of circumstances, but Garcia has limited opportunities to show Captain Luke Donald what he’s got with LIV events not counting toward the Ryder Cup rankings.
“I think the most important thing I need to do is keep playing like I’ve been playing If I can do that, I might even have a shot at qualifying on points,” Garcia said of qualifying for Donald’s team. “Obviously, I have to play really well in the events that count toward the Ryder Cup. But if I can’t make it that way, there’s always the possibility of being picked. The only thing I can do is keep showing Captain Luke what I’m made of. We’re not only friends, but we’ve played in Ryder Cups and on several teams together, so he knows what I can bring to the team.”
Donald texted his congratulations and support to Garcia after his win in Hong Kong, and they have stayed in contact. They both know one thing: If Garcia shows form, he will be in the discussion, but he needs to show form.
“We enjoy catching up and checking in,” Garcia said of his discussions with Donald. “It’s still early when it comes to Ryder Cup team decisions, but I believe I’m on his radar—which is a great feeling. As I said earlier, all I can do is keep playing well and keep giving him reasons to consider picking me when the time comes. We’ll see what happens.”
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