Sergio Garcia maps out plan to make Open return after LIV Golf star’s latest qualification setback

Sergio Garcia has not featured at The Open Championship since 2022, but not through a lack of trying, and he faces another qualification battle to return to the event this campaign.

Garcia's absence from the final major of the season over the last two years has come as a direct result of his decision to make the move to LIV Golf in 2022. Like many other LIV members, the Spaniard has seen his name tumble down the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), with the league continuing to host events without ranking points on offer.

This has led to the 2017 Masters champion needing to go down alternative avenues to earn an Open spot, most notably Final Qualifying, which he entered in 2023 and 2024.

Garcia teed it up at West Lancashire on both occasions in the 36-hole shootout, falling just short in back-to-back years to ensure he was absent from competing at Royal Liverpool and Royal Troon. Keen not to have to rely on this route this time around, Garcia joined a number of LIV stars in playing the Asian Tour's International Series event in Macau, where three Open spots were on offer.

Once again, the Spaniard went through more Open qualification heartbreak, this time by missing out on the final spot by a single shot, ending the tournament in fourth after missing a three-foot putt at the final hole of the week. His efforts to continue to go through qualifying are commendable, and this comes from his love for golf's most historic event.

"The Open means the world to me," Garcia told Mirror Sport. "I have said from the beginning that it is my favourite major. It is the one that I wish I had won already, but I am hoping to have more chances and give another run at it. It is a major that suits my game. I feel comfortable on links courses in front of the British crowds."

The near-miss in Macau will have been hard to take, especially the missed putt at the final hole, which would have been enough to earn him his major place if it had dropped. Garcia, however, is trying not to stew over the missed opportunity too much, having felt he had already lost his chance even before failing to make birdie at the last, with his closest rival Jason Kokrak - who banked the final spot - still out on the course.

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"It was disappointing, but at the same time, I was a little bit far from it throughout the whole day, until Jason came back a little bit," Garcia explained. "At least I gave myself a chance. You never know, if I had made that putt on 18, Jason might have birdied the last.

“I felt like I needed to make the eagle putt at 17 as I had the feeling he was going to birdie 18. That might have been the case if he needed it." Of course, Garcia's hopes are not over; the Spaniard does once again have the option of Final Qualifying, but before that will be hoping his efforts on the LIV circuit are enough to play his way to Royal Portrush.

As was confirmed earlier this month, the R&A announced that a spot for the 2025 Open would be given to the top-performing LIV golfer not already qualified in the top five of the league's individual standings. As things stand, Garcia is the man who will secure that spot, sitting third after a superb start to the year both individually and as a team with the Fireballs.

He added: "At the end of the day I will keep trying. There is still a few options to make it into The Open and give it everything I have to get what I want. Hopefully, I will be there because I love it." The last resort will then be the gruelling 36-hole qualifier if things do not work out via the standings.

And despite two failed attempts in the past two years, Garcia is willing to go through it all over again to book his Open return. "If I don’t make it through the spot with LIV, I will definitely be looking at going over to the UK and trying to qualify through the qualifying," Garcia revealed. "I am not afraid to do that.”