Plus: Europe’s Ryder Cup captain on what he wants to see from Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick at this week’s Masters
AUGUSTA — Of the big brand Europeans pushing their claims for Ryder Cup inclusion at the first major of the season, the name of Sergio Garcia is white hot.
Garcia has settled his differences with the European Tour, paid the fines levied for unsanctioned LIV appearances and arrives at Augusta with the full backing of skipper Luke Donald.
Now all he has to do is be Sergio Garcia in a setting that Donald can trust, starting at the Masters. That is not to disregard LIV, only to recognise the difficulties of assessing form in the context of a competition out of step with the game’s ancient conventions.
Garcia’s move to LIV in 2022 was toxic. He didn’t just leave the European Tour, he torched it in a vitriolic rant at the BMW International Open in Munich, the very tournament he plans to play in June as part of his rehabilitation. “This Tour is s***. You’re all f***ed,” Garcia reportedly said.
Robert MacIntyre, who came of age as part of the generation of young players called up to replace Garcia at the Ryder Cup in Rome, was in the room and made his feeling known with a social media post. “Amazing how fast you can lose respect for someone that you’ve looked up to all your life,” he said.
Why Garcia is back in contention
That was three years ago. The political landscape has changed, feelings softened, allowing Donald to consider LIV players in a way that was not possible in Rome, particularly Europe’s leading points scorer, who is already a winner this year on the LIV tour.
“Whatever differences you have it’s on me to deal with that, to figure that out, to create a cohesive team. I don’t have any big worries about that to be honest. They respect each other, they know what the goal is. Whatever that stuff might be, it won’t be an issue,” Donald said.
“He is adamant he wants to play Ryder Cup. He has done everything the tour has asked. He is going to play European Tour events, Munich for sure. You can’t discount the effort he is putting in. It means a lot to him and the players understand that too.”
The big beasts
Donald revealed how he maintains regular contact with his key players, particularly those who have been struggling, including Jon Rahm. “He is still a world class player. Last year was very disappointing for him, a lot going on, a lot of adjusting. I talk to him all the time.”
Viktor Hovland, one of Europe’s leading marksmen in Rome, is another who has received the wisdom of Donald during an alarming downturn last year. “Viktor is unique. Very focused on his golf and getting it right. Sometimes too much knowledge can be a bad thing. I talked a lot with him last year trying to guide him how to practice a little bit better,” Donald said.
“I think he gets a little bit down a rabbit hole, sitting on the range for seven hours trying to figure it out. That’s not the only part of the game. You need to have a plan. I think I got through to him before Valspar [where he won last month]. He obviously played well there.”
Matt Fitzpatrick, who hit a ranking high of six at his peak, has fallen to 74th in the world, a full 56 places since Rome. Fitzpatrick is unpickable on current form but that does not mean Donald has given up on him.
“I reached out a couple of weeks ago. He lives near me and wants to have a chat. I will do everything I can to help. He works very hard. Golf is a fickle game. You just need one good week and you can get it back quite quickly. Hopefully that will be the case for him.”
New names in the mix
Donald’s key Ryder Cup lieutenant Edoardo Molinari leads the data department advising not only on the form of the established group but potential rookies capable of delivering in the manner of Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, who turned pro only three months before his debut in Rome.
“We measure everything, everyone who is eligible so we have a good sense of how people are playing. He [Molinari] has all kinds of algorithms to tell me yes he is playing well enough to be a Ryder Cup player. There are some outsiders; Stephan Jaeger has been quite consistent, Aaron Rai, Rasmus [Hojgaard] is playing nicely, David Puig on LIV.
“It would be nice if some of these guys were playing majors all of the time, that is a great way to see them. We know what kind of performance is needed to be a Ryder Cup player. We are keyed in on that.”
McIlroy rising
Donald would love it were one of his flock to rise this week to end a run of seven successive major victories by American players since Rahm won here in 2023. Were that man to be Rory McIlroy, Donald would have the loudest drum to bang at Bethpage.
“I would love to see it. A sixth guy ever to win the Grand Slam, that would be historic. He is playing great. I think it is a mental battle with him. He would tell you the same thing. He is trying to do what he does every other week. The longer he goes the more scar tissue there is unfortunately. But I think he has been very impressive with his rebound from the US Open.
“It would be great just to keep that vibe and the momentum going with a European win. It doesn’t have to be this week but at least one of the majors going into Bethpage.”