Latest news with #SergioGarcía
Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Times
Sergio Garcia: I would love to be Europe's Ryder Cup captain
Sergio García has confirmed his interest in becoming Europe's Ryder Cup captain after being backed by Jon Rahm to lead the side in Spain. Rahm named García on Wednesday as the ideal candidate to captain Europe when the contest against the United States returns to Spain in 2031 for the first time in 34 years. García, Europe's record Ryder Cup points scorer, wants the job at some point and the hosting of the event by the Camiral Resort in Girona appears to be the perfect fit. 'Yes, I would love to be a Ryder Cup captain. I don't know when because you never know what might happen,' García said. 'Obviously Spain is a possibility but I don't want to get ahead of myself or anything like that until the right time comes. It's still six years away and you never know where you're going to be at that time in your life or health-wise. But the Ryder Cup means so much to me and to be able to host another Ryder Cup in Spain is a tremendous honour. 'The Ryder Cup always has this special flavour, no matter where it is but obviously when it's in your home country, it's even sweeter. It's great news and I know that everyone is very, very excited.' The last time the event was staged in Spain — at Valderrama in 1997 — it was another Spanish legend in Seve Ballesteros who captained Europe to victory. Rahm believes the timing would be ideal for García, who will be 51 in 2031, to emulate his golfing hero. 'It's very hard to compare anybody to Seve, and I've only heard stories about what that Ryder Cup was like, but I think that it's a very obvious good choice to have Sergio be a part of this one,' Rahm said. 'There's something to say about having a local captain. I think it would do wonders for the crowd.' The complication is that García, who is preparing for Friday's LIV Golf event at the JCB Club in Staffordshire, remains part of the Saudi-backed circuit. When Henrik Stenson was appointed as Europe's captain for the last Ryder Cup in Rome he was subsequently stripped of the role over his LIV links. The DP World Tour, which makes the appointment, then ruled that players who had resigned their membership to switch to LIV had rendered themselves ineligible for future captaincy. However with a thawing of tensions — albeit no final peace accord between golf's rival factions — García is hopeful their stance will soften. 'The LIV guys were never against doing those roles. We just got put in a position where we couldn't,' he said. 'We weren't allowed and that was obviously very sad for Henrik and a few possible captains that are here. That's obviously much better now and I'm sure will keep getting better as time goes by.' The Bethpage Black course in New York will host this year's Ryder Cup in September, before Adare Manor in Co Limerick hosts the 2027 event.
CNN
4 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
Sergio García forced to finish Open without his driver after snapping club in frustration
As a Masters champion and Ryder Cup icon, Sergio García boasts a resume that most golf lovers could only dream of. Yet for a few furious seconds at The Open Championship on Sunday, he was relatable to even the most amateur of hackers. The Spaniard played the last 16 holes of his 26th appearance at the major without his driver after snapping the club in frustration just five shots into his final round at Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland. Having opened with par, the 45-year-old wasted little time in showing his displeasure when his drive from the second tee careened left into the rough alongside the fairway. In an almost fluid follow through from his swing, ball still in the air, García slammed his driver into the turf. The outburst stopped there, but the damage was done, as the lower half of the severed club bounced away towards the 11-time PGA Tour winner's bag. With players permitted to repair or replace clubs 'except in cases of abuse,' as per the rules of tournament organizers The R&A, García headed on without one of his most important weapons. On his return to the clubhouse, García said he had not been trying to break the club and was 'surprised' to see it snap in half. 'I've done that 50 times, and I've never broken a club,' he told reporters. 'I don't know, maybe the shaft had a little thing there because I didn't feel like with what I did it should have broken, but that's what it was, and then I got some good practice when I threw it.' Yet, despite not having all 14 clubs, the 2017 Masters champion still went on to card his best round of a solid week on the Causeway Coast. After recovering superbly at the par-five second to make birdie, García poured in four more – including three across the back nine – to shoot three-under 68, bettering his third round bogey-free 70 and lifting him to three-under par overall. Though that left him well short of tournament leader Scottie Scheffler, who took a four-shot advantage into the final round at 14-under par, it looks set to be a marked improvement on his last outing at the major: a tied-68th finish at St Andrews in 2022. '(If) I started with 14 (clubs), I don't know, maybe I would have shot worse. You never know,' García said. Runner-up in both 2007 and 2014, García had played in 24 successive Opens before falling short at Final Qualifying in the past two years. An agonizing missed putt from three feet in March looked to have extinguished his hopes of a place in this year's field, only for him to subsequently secure his spot as the leading non-exempt player on the LIV Golf rankings – a new entry category introduced for the 153rd edition of the tournament. García will be hoping his performance impressed European Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald, as the biennial competition's all-time record points scorer (28.5) looks to make the Englishman's roster for the 45th edition in Farmingdale, New York this September. Should he be chosen as a wildcard, six-time winner García would draw level with Nick Faldo and Lee Westwood for the most Ryder Cup appearances for Europe (11), one shy of American Phil Mickelson's all-time record. 'It's no secret that we have been talking,' García said of Donald Sunday. '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. 'I think that I can bring things to the team … to any team that would probably need it. Obviously at the end of the day, he's going to make whatever he thinks is the best decision for him and his team.' 'It's still a couple months to go. I wish I could have a crystal ball and see the future, but unfortunately, I cannot,' he added.
Arab News
6 days ago
- Sport
- Arab News
2031 Ryder Cup to be hosted in Girona, Spain, says Catalan golf federation
BARCELONA: The 2031 Ryder Cup will be held in northeastern Spain, the president of the Catalan golf federation has told The Associated Press. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport Ramon Nogué, president of the Catalan golf federation, told the AP by phone Friday that 'next week it will be official' that Girona will be announced as the host of the golfing event between the best male players of Europe and the United States. The choice of Girona was first reported by Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia. 'Any announcement in relation to future editions of the Ryder Cup will be made in due course,' Ryder Cup Europe said. This will be the second time for Spain to host the Cup after Valderrama in 1997, and just the fourth time it will be played in continental Europe after Le Golf National outside Paris in 2018 and Marco Simone outside Rome in 2023. The Ryder Cup is closely tied to Spain because of European team stalwarts Seve Ballesteros, José María Olazábal and Sergio García. This year's Ryder Cup will be held at Bethpage Black in New York in September. The next one staged in Europe is in 2027 at Adare Manor in Ireland.
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
2031 Ryder Cup to be hosted in Girona, Spain, says Catalan golf federation
Barcelona, Spain — The 2031 Ryder Cup will be held in northeastern Spain, the president of the Catalan golf federation has told The Associated Press. Ramon Nogué, president of the Catalan golf federation, told the AP by phone Friday that 'next week it will be official' that Girona will be announced as the host of the golfing event between the best male players of Europe and the United States. The choice of Girona was first reported by Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia. 'Any announcement in relation to future editions of the Ryder Cup will be made in due course,' Ryder Cup Europe said. This will be the second time for Spain to host the Cup after Valderrama in 1997, and just the fourth time it will be played in continental Europe after Le Golf National outside Paris in 2018 and Marco Simone outside Rome in 2023. The Ryder Cup is closely tied to Spain because of European team stalwarts Seve Ballesteros, José María Olazábal and Sergio García. This year's Ryder Cup will be held at Bethpage Black in New York in September. The next one staged in Europe is in 2027 at Adare Manor in Ireland. ___ AP Sports Writer Steve Douglas in Portrush, Northern Ireland, contributed to this report. ___ AP golf:
