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Sergio Garcia believes what he brings to the European Ryder Cup team room should be taken into consideration by captain Thomas Bjorn when the Dane comes to make his captain’s picks.
The 2017 Masters champion has been an integral figure in European teams for the best part of 20 years, playing in eight of the last nine matches dating back to his debut at Brookline in 1999.
In those appearances, he has amassed a total of 22.5 points – behind only Sir Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood – and, as part of six winning teams, there’s no doubting his status as a European Ryder Cup legend.
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However, Garcia has failed to qualify automatically for the 2018 team after a torrid year. In 18 events across both the PGA Tour and European Tour, he has mustered just four top tens – although one of those was at Le Golf National, the Ryder Cup host venue.
On the PGA Tour, from the Masters onwards the Spaniard missed eight cuts in 11 events, which resulted in him failing to qualify for the season-ending FedEx Cup play-offs.
It’s hardly the form worthy of selection but, speaking on GOLF.com’s podcast, Garcia believes he offers more than just his ability on the golf course.
“At the moment, obviously, I have to find a couple of things here and there,” he told Alan Shipnuck. “It’s been a tough three to three-and-a-half months. Before that, I had started the year really well and I was comfortable.
“There have been some changes that I’ve had to get used to and I lost a little bit of confidence but I’ve been working hard and trying to do everything I can to get my game in the best shape possible to, if Thomas considers it, be part of the team and help out in any way I can.
“I’ve spoken to Thomas over the past couple of months. He obviously knows what I bring to the team as a player – but also as a person. I think he appreciates that and I think it’s a matter of if he feels what I bring to the team is good enough.
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“Although he’d love me to be at 100% with my game, he knows that even if my game is not 100%, I can bring other things to my teammates that might help the team overall.”
Asked by Shipnuck whether he would accept a position as vice-captain should he not make the team, Garcia replied: “Probably not. I’ve done that already [in 2010] and I know how hard it is to be an assistant captain.
“At the moment, I don’t want to think about that because I want to be part of the team as a player.”
Bjorn will announce his four wildcard picks live on Sky Sports at 2pm on Wednesday.
To listen to the GOLF.com podcast with Sergio Garcia in full, CLICK HERE.
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