“Shark deal to square up” – Fans react to DP World Tour rejecting Sergio Garcia’s $867,345 offering to play the Ryder Cup
Sergio Garcia made his last attempt to settle the differences with the DP World Tour to get a chance to play in the Ryder Cup. He tried to convince the Tour by paying off over £700,000 (approx. $867,345), which was added to his initial fine of £100,000 (approx. $1,23,969) as per The Telegraph.
Garcia's plea also included that he would be available for all the tournaments that the Tour wanted him to play, except for those that clashed with the LIV Golf's events left in this season. However, the request was rejected by the Tour because he resigned from his membership after joining the breakaway series.
NUCLR GOLF shared the information on X (formerly known as Twitter), which garnered a lot of fan reaction to Sergio Garcia's "last-ditch attempt". A fan felt that it was a "shark deal" to settle things with the DP World Tour.
Another fan was disappointed that the golfer was willing to pay an exceedingly high amount, yet he was not allowed to play.
While there were several fans who felt that paying money wouldn't earn him a spot. They were certainly furious over Sergio Garcia and reacted by saying that he had to wait for his chances.
Here are some top comments on X, formerly Twitter:
Sergio Garcia has the record for most points earned in Ryder Cup history. His records and performance in the previous editions might have made a case for him, however, his resignation from the DP World Tour diminished all the chances of participation in the European Ryder Cup team.
In the 2021 edition, Garcia was the second-ranked golfer with the most points for the European team, just 0.5 points behind Jon Rahm (3.5 points in total). Also, Rahm also shared his disappointment over his fellow Spanish compatriot being left out of contention, despite his overwhelming performance in the past.
Sergio Garcia is not eligible to join the DP World Tour until 2024, as per reports
The Spaniard was undoubtedly willing to get himself a spot in the Ryder Cup. He agreed to play the excess amount of fine and also proposed to play in whatever event the Tour wanted him to play. But, as per a recent report by The Telegraph, his willingness doesn't matter despite him being ready to pay the outstanding fines.
As per a source, Sergio Garcia reached out to pay the $867,345 fine, which eventually got added as he failed to pay the dues on time. Now, he is not "eligible to join until next year".
The source also said to The Telegraph, that Garcia was the only LIV Golf's player to have not paid the "original £100,000 fine". Meanwhile, players such as Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, and others have already paid.