Sergio Garcia’s week has gone from bad to worse. The Spanish golfer had very recently competed in the second major of the season, the 2025 PGA Championship held at Quail Hollow. And while Garcia did make the cutline, the LIV pro ended the four-day venture with a score of 7 over par at T67. That’s eighteen strokes off the lead from tournament-winning Scottie Scheffler.

Right after his major date at North Carolina, Garcia travelled to Texas to take part in the US Open Qualifying at the Bent Tree Country Club in Dallas. Disappointment followed him there as well, as the 45-year-old missed the qualifying spot by just 1 stroke, carding a 65 and 71 across two rounds. This would mean that the 2017 Masters Champion will not compete at the 2025 US Open being held at the Oakmont Country Club in Texas. That is, unless he is granted an exemption by the organizing committee. If he is not granted the exemption, this will mark his first absence at the major since making his debut in 2000.

Garcia’s record at the US Open is exemplary. While he has not won the major, he has finished in the top 10 5 times during the 25 years. His best ever finish was T3 which happened at the 2005 US Open. The Spaniard had also missed the cut 5 times.

At Dallas, Danish golfer Rasmus Neergard-Petersen picked up the first of the 7 qualifying spots, with a score of 11 under par. Adam Schenk and James Hahn qualified by carding a 10 under par. Two amateur golfers also booked a spot in Corinth, with both Lance Simpson and Cameron Tankersley carding 8 under par alongside Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz. Johnny Keefer picked up the final qualifying spot after coming victorious in a playoff battle with six other golfers.

Garcia’s exit is quite shocking on all fronts. The Spaniard had to compete in the Qualifying round after losing out on an automatic spot that was available for a top 3 player in the LIV circuit who was otherwise not exempt. The Spaniard lost out to Chilean golfing sensation Joaquin Niemann who clinched the spot after his third victory of the season at LIV Golf Mexico.

Joaquin Niemann trounces Sergio Garcia for LIV spot

At the beginning of 2025, the US Golf Association had stated that an exemption would be granted to the top player on the LIV circuit who was in the top 3 of the individual points list as of May 19, 2025. The player should have not been exempt otherwise. Such has been Niemann’s dominance on the Saudi-backed tour, that he grabbed the spot despite there being one more event left. Niemann was nearly 46 points away from Sergio Garcia in third. A victory at Korea would have given Garcia only 40 points, which was not enough to oust Niemann from his position.

“My team was asking me to sign up for the qualifier and the sectional, and I wasn’t really into that, so more than anything I’m grateful that I’m not playing 36 holes on a Monday after a tournament. Yeah, I’m pretty happy.” Niemann stated after securing his spot at Oakmont Country Club.

Do you think Sergio Garcia should be granted an exemption for the upcoming US Open?