Sergio Garcia might not have made the Ryder Cup team, but he’s not letting that overshadow his golf. While Garcia was initially disappointed and withdrew from the Irish Open to process the snub, the Spaniard has apparently moved on. Carding an impressive total score of 58, a rare feat in itself, Garcia is proving that he will not let the cold shoulder dictate his performance. So what went down?

Despite being a 10-time Ryder Cup veteran with a stellar Ryder Cup resume of 28.5 points in 25-13-7 matches, Luke Donald turned his eye on Garcia. Instead, Donald chose younger repeat players from the 2023 Marco Simone edition. That clearly took a mental toll on Garcia, who decided to sit out on the upcoming Irish Open at the beginning of this month, citing,

“I pulled out of this week’s Irish Open because I would ‘not be fully engaged’ after missing out on the Ryder Cup team.”

Garcia returned to a casual match-up against Steve Speares, Bubba Nickle, and Todd Rader at the Austin Country Club. Firing jaw-dropping shots, Garcia finished 58. Garcia expressed how special the moment was to him. The Spaniard brought comparisons to his hole-in-one victory against Lee Westwood at the 2021 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. Posting the high from the event on his Instagram, Garcia captioned:

“Not like the hole in one I made against my friend @westwood_lee in Austin in 2021, but super special to shoot 58 with my buddies Steve Speares, Bubba Nickle, and Todd Rader 9/18/25 Austin Country Club!”

While this is not a professional event, writing a 58 on the scoreboards is a rare feat. It marks a moment of personal redemption from his mental rut after the Ryder Cup disappointment. Showcasing elite golf, Garcia proved he’s still capable of remarkable milestones, whether that comes with a trip to Bethpage or not. Moreover, it throws light on the messy, flawed, human version of even the golfers everyone looks up to. His story of resilient comeback, even through a personal feat, is exactly why the fans admire Garcia.

But it’s not just his casual getaways with friends that are winning hearts. His support for the European Ryder Cup team despite his exclusion is what really struck a chord with the fans. While he explained that his call with Captain Luke Donald didn’t go as planned, his faith in the European team is unwavering.

“Now, the only thing I can do is support the team from home. It’s as simple as that. I’ll be watching and cheering on the European team.”

The Spaniard sent his support to the team, while he admitted his own mental battles.

“I felt like I was so looking forward to being a part of that team, and so I felt like mentally, you know, mentally it was kind of tough,”

Garcia told GolfMagic. Dropping to 411th in the OWGR rankings, turns out his contract with the LIV hasn’t been merciful. Despite his second LIV title at the Hong Kong leg, Garcia failed to gain any valuable points from these events. That leaves him searching for contention at events like the Ryder Cup. However, Garcia showed no regrets about his transition to LIV.

“I can only speak for myself, but I’ve definitely made the right decision,” Garcia told Golf Digest in 2022. “I feel like I’m where I want to be. Obviously, I knew some of the things that might happen if I joined here, but at the end of the day, as we’re seeing … you can see that some of the guys on the other side don’t really want me there. I don’t want to be a burden to anyone and even less in a Ryder Cup.”

His stance on the Ryder Cup implications of LIV has changed significantly since then. But one thing is sure: this makes his comeback even more profound. However, his Ryder Cup snub caused more controversy than just a withdrawal and a flaunting bounce back. And the arguments have been conflicting, to say the least.

European marquee golfers speak out on Sergio Garcia’s Ryder Cup

Sergio Garcia is too big a name to miss. He is still the only Ryder Cup player with the highest points attained at 28.5. So, naturally, the current reigning players on the European circuit cannot help but comment on the entire drama. Fellow golfer of the LIV circuit, Jon Rahm, has always supported his buddy, Garcia.

“My heart is always going to say yes, right,” Rahm explained. “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.” However, he kept things real when he shared what might have caused this exclusion that appeared as a snub.

Rahm explained that while Garcia played decently in the beginning of the year, his form started to dip around April. That made his case weaker in front of the captain. Rahm also went over the LIV deal, acknowledging the lack of OWGR points. But he pointed out that the form in these events is what essentially makes them stand out.

PGA Tour pro Rory McIlroy seemed to agree on that. The European Ryder Cup star made his case that Donald has done a good job at stringing together an impressive roster. “

As I said, Luke, has assembled a very strong 12 players, and I think the right 12 players, and I’m sure he’s disappointed.”

McIlroy also expressed his confusion at Garcia’s withdrawal, even though he believes Garcia has the right to manage his own schedule.

These comments are probably not the sympathizing remarks one might have expected. But they nudge the golfer to keep making his game sharp, even if that comes with a tough-love edge. And Sergio Garcia appears to have recovered from his disappointment, making a statement on the greens yet again. Would he get on the team next edition? That’s something to bet on for sure.