Ian Poulter reveals Sergio Garcia’s return to Ryder Cup squad will come at huge cost

Ian Poulter has revealed how Sergio Garcia – or LIV Golf – faces a total fine of £2.4 million with the DP World Tour if he still wishes to become eligible to be part of Luke Donald’s 2025 European Ryder Cup team.

Poulter, 48, made his feelings about Garcia, 44, known during an interview with Matt Vincenzi of Sports Illustrated.

Last week, news emerged that Garcia had paid his final fines to LIV Golf, which exceeded the £1 million and that he has successfully submitted his application to become a member of the DP World Tour again for the 2025 season.

Garcia, the 2017 Masters winner, submitted his entry before the November 17 DP World Tour deadline.

Exclusive:

This fell on the final day of the 2024 DP World Tour season, where Rory McIlroy, who was a groomsman at Garcia’s wedding in 2017, won both the DP World Tour Championship and Race to Dubai titles .

The Spaniard will only have to serve a two-month suspension before he can officially return to the old European Tour circuit where he won. 16 times.

Garcia confirmed to GolfMagic that his suspension from the DP World Tour will last a total of nine weeks.

This suspension came into immediate effect from the Australian PGA last week.

But despite Garcia’s imminent return to the DP World Tour in 2025, his LIV Golf counterpart Poulter believes it will all come at a steep price if he still wants to become eligible for Donald’s 2025 European Ryder Cup team.

Following the decision of a sports arbitration committee to ratify the sanctions imposed by the DP World Tour against LIV Golf players last season, Garcia will still be penalized by the DP World Tour when he participates in the 14 tournaments of LIV Golf in 2025.

Garcia will be fined £100,000 in every tournament he plays on LIV Golf in 2025, which amounts to an additional £1.4 million before the £1 million he already had to show up at the DP World Tour.

In Poulter’s latest interview with Vincenzi, the Englishman revealed how LIV Golf players have all signed a compensation policy to cover their fines.

But despite this, Poulter will not follow Garcia to the DP World Tour or Ryder Cup team, at least for now.

“It’s going to be expensive,” Poulter told Vincenzi of Garcia’s return.

“For Sergio to be eligible to play in this Ryder Cup he would have already had to pay £1 million in fines.

“Sergio will play 14 LIV events next year, for a fee of £100,000 per week.

“He or LIV would have spent £2.4 million to give him that freedom to have a chance. That’s a lot of money spent trying to build a team.”

Garcia is very much hoping to move forward with everything as it is and force his way into a joint-record 11th European Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black in New York from September 26-28, 2025.

“Yes, everything is confirmed, I’m a member of the DP World Tour again, so I’m very happy about that,” Garcia told us here at GolfMagic last week.

“I’m really excited to be part of the DP World Tour again and excited to play a few events next year, support the Tour and obviously have the opportunity to be eligible for the Ryder Cup.

“Now is the time to play good golf and do great things.”

Ian Poulter

Given that Garcia will play a full schedule on LIV Golf in 2025 and his participation in all four majors is not guaranteed other than the Masters, he will most likely count on getting one of Donald’s six captain’s picks .

Poulter thinks it will be a matter of luck if Garcia makes the team.

“I don’t know if Luke had long conversations with Sergio,” Poulter told Vincenzi.

“Obviously Sergio finished third last year on the order of merit in LIV, which shows what Sergio is still capable of.

“As far as his chances of a) making his way into the competition, making an automatic pick – and/or how highly will he be considered by Luke and what would it take for that to happen…I don’t know how many tournaments Sergio plans to play in Europe, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

If Garcia were to win a place alongside Donald, he would also match the feat of English duo Sir Nick Faldo and Lee Westwood for 11 appearances on a European Ryder Cup team.