Apart from their professional careers, Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia have had a great friendship, which they still cherish. The duo has also shared the greens at the Ryder Cup with a fantastic record of 3-0. But now for the second time this year, Sergio Garcia is not part of the European Ryder Cup team, resulting in another heartbreak for Rahm. Earlier in 2023, he said, “It’s a little sad to me.” But this time? He might be sad, but he also understands Luke Donald’s decision.

He was asked about it in the presser of the BMW PGA Championship. “My heart is always going to say yes, right. He’s a good friend of mine, he’s a Spanish player, and the moments we shared in Whistling and Paris, personally, I’m always going to want him around. He did play good early on in the year, very, very good. He was playing incredible golf, maybe in some parts of the world that you weren’t watching,” expressed Rahm.

Garcia and Rahm, apart from coming from the same nation, have shared an incredible Ryder Cup journey. The duo partnered up twice, in 2018 and 2021. However, after that, the duo fizzled out with Garcia missing in 2023 and now again in 2025. He has played 10 Ryder Cups in the past and has a team record of 6-4, while his individual record is 25-12-7. So, despite his excellent past record, recency matters. The 2025 season is not exactly the performance Garcia would like to present to the team. Something that he admitted in the 2025 PGA Championship presser. Garcia has had ups and downs with his performance, with just one win and three top-10 finishes in LIV. For the majors, he finished T67 at the PGA Championship and T34 at The Open; missing the cut for ther Mas.ters and not even qualifying for the Oakmont marking it his first time since 1999.

So, naturally, despite being close friends, Rahm had to accept Donald’s judgment. Explaing that, he said, “It seemed like from April on, he didn’t keep that level. So I don’t think he helped himself. I understand that while we are not earning points or the rankings, we need to make a really strong case to be picked. Had he kept that level, he might have been on the team, but he didn’t play as good as he could have. Subjectively, I’m always going to root for him.”

Donald said during the Amgen Irish Open, “Unfortunately, with Sergio, I felt like his form wasn’t quite good enough to make a team full of so many people playing well.” But despite this, Garcia still hoped to make it to the team.

Talking about that, he said, “It would mean the world to me to be there. Obviously, if I can help the team, that’s my main goal, I’ve always said it.” He talked about being on the team for 11 seasons, since 1999. However, the snub left him heartbroken, “I felt like I was so looking forward to being a part of the team, and so I felt like mentally, you know, mentally it was kind of tough.”

While Sergio might need more time to accept this blow, his replacement, however, earned his way into the tea, and the Captain admits it.

Who took the place of Sergio Garcia for the second time at the Ryder Cup?

Sepp Straka will take the place of Sergio Garcia for the second time this year. His debut, however, was not some might consider Ryder Cup team worthy, as he had a record of 1-1. But this year, Straka has earned it.

Donald shared about Straka being part of the team, “Sepp has been performing at a very high level; he’s had five top-10s in elevated events this year, so his record speaks for itself. He’s a quiet, reserved character, but he has so much fire in his belly, and I’m really excited to have him back in the team room.” Straka had 6 top 10 finishes this year, including victories at the American Express and Truist Championship.

In the end, Sergio Garcia’s absence is a reminder that past glory alone cannot secure a Ryder Cup spot. For Jon Rahm, it means accepting the disappointment of seeing a close friend left behind while turning his focus to Europe’s future.