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Luke Donald has told Sergio Garcia that the rules do not allow the Spaniard to act as an assistant captain at this year’s Ryder Cup and that his only chance to get involved in New York is as a player.
Garcia recently paid outstanding fines to the DP World Tour totaling more than £1 million for joining the LIV Golf League and after resigning from his local tour two years ago, the 44-year-old has now rejoined.
Yet while this U-turn means he will be eligible to represent Europe at Bethpage Black, as things stand, a little-known rule ensures he cannot be appointed as an assistant, nor, at the future, same captain.
Donald was asked earlier this week about the chances of Garcia – the Ryder Cup’s all-time leading scorer and a good friend of the Englishman – playing a role in the blue and gold team room. it fails to qualify as a right or if it is chosen as a wildcard.
But after hinting a few months ago that he thought it could be a possibility if Garcia was back in a “good position on the Tour”, the European skipper now realizes it would be against Tour regulations.
“The rules will have to change if Sergio wants to become an assistant,” Donald said. “So I didn’t think much about it, because that scenario isn’t allowed right now.”
The Tour introduced a rule in 2018 which states that “players cannot be captain or vice-captain of the European Ryder Cup if they decline European Tour membership or fail to fulfill their minimum event obligation at the over the course of a season.
A Saudi-funded rebel league wasn’t even a rumor at the time and the new stipulation was implemented to persuade big names to let their memberships expire in non-Ryder Cup years.
However, as Garcia and other European legends, such as Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, surrendered their cards in 2023 after the Tour won a court hearing for the right to impose sanctions, they are ineligible to be part of the management team.
Depending on the outcome of negotiations between the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, this draconian measure may well be abandoned, but this is very unlikely within the next nine months.
So unless Garcia – who is set to make his first regular Tour start in 30 months in Bahrain in three weeks – can, as world number 441, defy the odds to land a 10th place finish at the Ryder Cup, he will be present again on the circuit. the outside looks in. And his compatriot Jon Rahm would only be a European heavyweight dismayed by such a situation.
“I think it would be really stupid of anyone not to lean on Sergio Garcia’s Ryder Cup experience,” Rahm said. “I mean, he’s the best player Europe has ever had, he’s won the most points and shown it time and time again. If he could become vice-captain, I would absolutely lean on him .
Rahm himself joined LIV shortly after making these comments and was also sanctioned by the Tour. However, even though he has yet to pay the fines, the two-time major champion is allowed to continue playing on the Tour after appealing.
Rahm, along with fellow LIV players Tyrrell Hatton, Adrian Meronk, Thomas Pieters and Patrick Reed, will compete in the Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic next week.
Donald is also in that $9 million realm. The former world number 1 was here at Abu Dhabi Golf Club this week, overseeing the Team Cup, a match between Great Britain and Ireland and continental Europe that is effectively a dress rehearsal for the Ryder Cup.
And Donald will have been impressed by Tommy Fleetwood’s form as GB&I took an almost unassailable 11-4 lead heading into closing Sunday. Fleetwood won three out of three matches. Justin Rose’s team only needs two more points from the 10 singles to win the trophy for Francesco Molinari’s Continentals.
