Sergio Garcia hopes his victory at LIV Golf Hong Kong will put him on Luke Donald’s radar ahead of September’s Ryder Cup in Bethpage Black.
Garcia is the Ryder Cup’s record points scorer but was absent from the victorious European team in Rome two years ago having been ineligible to compete after defecting to the Saudi backed tour.
However, the Spaniard has since paid the reported £1m fines imposed on him by the DP World Tour for participating in LIV events and he has rejoined the tour making him eligible for Ryder Cup selection.
The 45-year-old would love to match Lee Westwood and Nick Faldo’s record of eleven European appearances in the biennial contest while fellow LIV golfer Jon Rahm has been a constant voice of support for his inclusion on the 12-man panel.
“We’ve been in touch, so I know that he [Donald] is keeping an eye [on me]. The only thing I can do is keep playing good golf,” Garcia said after his victory in Hong Kong.
“I just want to help the European team like I’ve tried to do every single time I’ve been a member of that team. Hopefully he will think I’m good enough for it.”
Garcia would be relying on a captain’s pick from Donald as LIV events do not carry any world ranking points. So, despite his victory on Sunday, Garcia will lingers outside the world’s top-400 players.
Garcia, who started the day tied at the top of the leaderboard with Peter Uihlein and Paul Casey, carded a flawless 7-under 63 to take home his second individual LIV Golf title, having also won last year’s LIV Golf Andalucía.
It was a double celebration for Garcia as his Fireballs GC team also won the team title.
“Super proud of the team … I really love this format and the team aspect of it and put my arm around them and give them advice if they need it or want it.”
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