Sergio Garcia has joined the DP World Tour as he aims for a European record 11th appearance at the Ryder Cup.
The 44-year-old, who is already the event’s record points scorer, wants to match the European benchmark of Lee Westwood and Sir Nick Faldo by playing at Bethpage in the United States next year.
However, to do so the Spaniard, who joined the LIV Golf breakaway in 2022, had to settle the substantial fines – said to amount to more than £1 million – imposed on him by the tour and he will also have to serve a suspension. .
Garcia resigned his membership in May 2023 after an arbitration panel ruled in favor of the DP World Tour and ratified its right to fine and ban players who participated in LIV events Golf without permission.
The DP World Tour later revealed that Garcia was the only one of the 17 players initially sanctioned who had not paid his £100,000 fine, “and that he has given no indication that he intends to do so”.
But the desire to play the Ryder Cup meant the 2017 Masters champion kept the channels of communication open and had a number of conversations with captain Luke Donald, reprising his role from Rome two years ago, and relented on its position.
“Sergio Garcia has submitted his application to become a member of the DP World Tour again for the 2025 season before the deadline of Sunday, November 17,” a DP World Tour spokesperson said.
“He has paid his fines but will have to serve his suspensions before he can play on the DP World Tour.”
“It is a member of category 1 (reserved for the winners of the Race to Dubai Rankings 2017 to 2024 and the four majors from 2017 to 2025) for the 2025 season.”
Donald was asked last month at an event in New York for the 2025 Ryder Cup, less than a year away, if he thought Garcia was seriously considering joining the tour.
“Yes, we spoke on the phone a few weeks ago. He’s certainly very interested in doing that,” he said at the time.
“He understands everything that’s involved and again, the decision has to be his if he’s willing to do all of that. But we’ve certainly had that discussion.
“He will have to follow all the rules and regulations like everyone else and if he does, he will be eligible to compete in the Ryder Cup.”