Sign up for our daily newsletter
Latest news, reviews, analysis and opinion, plus unmissable deals for bunkered subscriptions, events, and our commercial partners.
Sergio Garcia has suffered a significant blow in his quest to qualify for the 2018 Ryder Cup team after missing out on the FedEx Cup play-offs.
The Spaniard started the week at 131st in the PGA Tour’s annual Order of Merit, with the top 125 progressing through to the first FedEx Cup play-off event – The Northern Trust – next week.
Requiring a top 20 finish to seal his place there, Garcia was handily placed after three rounds in a tie for eighth.
• Ryder Cup 2018: The Sergio Garcia dilemma
• WATCH: Sergio holes putt then does the floss
However, he laboured to a level par 70 in the final round – his worst round by three strokes all week – to finish T24 and, therefore, finish 128th in the FedEx Cup standings.
It means that Garcia will have to rely on a pick from captain Thomas Bjorn as he has no more ‘world’ events to qualify on the World Points List, while there isn’t enough prize money available in the next two European Tour events – the D+D Real Czech Masters and Made in Denmark – to claw into the top four of the European Points List.
Garcia is currently 23rd in the European Points List with 1,398,187 points, over two million points behind Tommy Fleetwood, who occupies the fourth spot on that list.
So, what are Garcia’s options now?
Well, it seems there are two. The first is to sit back and hope that his previous Ryder Cup experience will mean that he is a no-brainer pick for Bjorn, although with eight missed cuts in his last 11 PGA Tour events, that’s not making it easy for the Dane.
• Fan needs stitches after being struck by golfer’s broken club
• Snedeker says two US players are Ryder Cup ‘locks’
The other option is to tee it up in the Made in Denmark in two weeks’ time and put in a performance worthy of a pick. After all, winning the event two years ago was pivotal in Thomas Pieters’ selection for the match at Hazeltine.
Meanwhile, there has been a change in the automatic qualification spots. With a fourth-placed finish at the Nordea Masters, Thorbjorn Olesen has overtaken Ian Poulter to currently sit in the eighth and final automatic spot.
Rafa Cabrera-Bello has also leapfrogged Poulter after his T11 finish at the Wyndham Championship.
The bubble
8. Thorbjorn Olesen – 177.01
—
9. Rafa Cabrera-Bello – 168.75
10. Ian Poulter – 168.19
11. Paul Casey – 167.05
12. Matt Fitzpatrick – 152.93
According to Twitter Official World Golf Ranking statto @VC606, Cabrera-Bello, Poulter and Casey can all overtake Olesen – who isn’t playing this week – with a top 15-20 finish at The Northern Trust.
Should Sergio get a pick?
Do you think the Spaniard should go to the Ryder Cup? What would you like to see the Spaniard do now? Let us know in the ‘Comments’ section below.
ALL ABOUT THE MASTERS
More Reads
The bunkered Golf Course Guide - Scotland
Now, with bunkered, you can discover the golf courses Scotland has to offer. Trust us, you will not be disappointed.
Find Courses