The Open star unleashed furious rant in qualifying before making use of LIV Golf loophole
LIV Golf star Sergio Garcia has qualified for this year's Open via a loophole, after his attempt at making last year's tournament ended in a furious tirade at officials. Garcia secured his place at the 2025 Open through the LIV Golf points list.
This came after missing out initially. However, with members of the breakaway league gaining an invite via their individual season-long leaderboard for the first time, he made the cut.
The R&A had announced earlier in the year that following the LIV Dallas event at the end of June, players who were not already exempt would be granted entry to Royal Portrush.
As a consequence, a determined Garcia, who is fifth in the LIV standings, elected not to take part in the 36-hole Open Championship qualifier. He also decided against competing in any of the four qualifying events and instead chose to use his performances on the LIV Golf tour to lock him into The Open.
Yet it was a far cry from 2024 where Garcia launched into a rant at R&A officials after losing his cool during qualifying. The Spanish star was forced to take part in the qualifying tournament after relinquishing his Open exemption due to his links with the Saudi Arabian-backed league.
Garcia was the one to watch on the fairway and was trailed by a sizable crowd. However, events took a sour turn when he was made to wait to tee off while course marshals were busy waving the crowd on by.
The 45-year-old ended up steering his drive into trouble and was clearly frustrated. Snapping at course officials he demanded: "It needs to be organised better."
Garcia was then slapped with a warning for slow play which agitated him further, as he believed the sheer volume of fans in attendance were responsible for his lethargic pace. The warning pushed Garcia over the edge as he said: "You're right, we're always wrong."
This year's development means that 2017 Masters Champion Garcia, who did not play at the US Open, will be participating in his first Open Championship since 2022, where he finished T68.
The Open will go ahead on July 17 at Royal Portrush, with several big names failing to make the cut in qualifying. Northern Irish star Graeme McDowell, Sam Horsfield and LIV Golf's Adrian Meronk and Ian Poulter will all miss out.
Speaking on the right of those playing in the LIV Golf league to feature in The Open, Mark Darbon, chief executive of the R&A, back in February said: "The Open is a global championship for the best men's golfers and each year we review our exemptions to ensure that we offer pathways into the Championship based on results achieved on the leading professional tours.
"We acknowledge that players competing in LIV Golf should also have the opportunity to secure places in The Open through its individual season standings as well as existing pathways.
"We are proud to offer a wide range of opportunities to qualify globally and look forward to seeing which golfers will emerge to take their place at Royal Portrush in July."
Meanwhile Garcia, speaking at the LIV Dallas event at the end of June, said: "It's going to be my second time playing at Royal Portrush, and it's obviously nice. It's one of the goals that you have at the beginning of the year, to try to play as many majors as you can with the limitations that we get.
"I didn't help myself very much the last three months, but I'm glad that I got enough work done in the first third of the year, I guess, in the first part of the season. I'm excited about it, and hopefully I'll play well."
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