Michael Madrid-Imagn Images
Sergio Garcia next to a piece of lasagna
On Tuesday, hundreds of golfers flocked to courses in England and Scotland in hopes of being one of the 20 people to qualify for a spot in this year’s British Open. That included Sergio Garcia, who used a serving of lasagna as a scapegoat after he failed to secure a spot in the major.
This year, Royal Birkdale will host the 154th edition of the British Open (officially known as “The Open Championship”) for the 11th time. The field will feature 156 competitors vying for the Claret Jug, most of whom qualified via an automatic exemption thanks to their play on the PGA Tour and other professional circuits.
However, there is a reason golf’s oldest major is referred to as an “open,” as the R&A (the governing body that oversees it) also hosts a qualifying gauntlet that allows anyone with a scratch handicap or better the chance to earn the opportunity to play against the best players on the planet.
On Tuesday, four courses in the United Kingdom hosted the country’s equivalent of the U.S. Open qualifying marathon known as “Golf’s Longest Day,” as a grand total of 288 players were vying for the 20 spots reserved for the men who ended up with the best scores after playing a full round in the morning before doing it all again in the afternoon.
That included talented amateurs you’ve never heard of as well as more than a few pros you likely have—like Sergio Garcia, who seemed to regret the lunch he opted for after wrapping up his first 18 holes.
Sergio Garcia blamed lasagna for stomach issues that played a role in his inability to qualify for the British Open
Burnham & Berrow, Dundonald Links, Royal Cinque Ports, and West Lancashire comprised the quartet of courses that hosted the Final Qualifying rounds on Tuesday, and Sergio Garcia was one of the players who headed to the last one on that list in the hopes of making it through.
The Spaniard, who has been affiliated with LIV Golf since 2022, has played in The Open on 26 occasions, which included 24 consecutive appearances between 1998 and 2022 (he peaked with a second-place finish in 2007). The streak came to an end after he came up short in qualifiers in 2023, which was also the case the following year (when he was involved in a dispute concerning slow play).
He returned in 2025 by virtue of his rank in the LIV Golf standings (he finished in a tie for 34th), but he was once again relegated to a qualifier this year. The 46-year-old got off to a promising start in the morning with a 68 that put him in a tie for fourth, but the wheels fell off in the afternoon as he shot a 75 and finished in a tie for 30th at -1 (seven strokes below the qualifying threshold).
Garcia spoke with Ben Parons of Today’s Golfer in the wake of his second round to shed some light on what went wrong while alluding to some stomach issues he had to battle through on the front nine.
I spoke with Sergio Garcia after he missed out on Open FQ at West Lancs.
Says he was feeling good after his first round, but then came a dodgy lasagne at lunchtime…
Full story: https://t.co/2K4dzuqpnI pic.twitter.com/dtLIq0793o
— Ben Parsons (@_benparsons) June 30, 2026
He chalked them up to the lunch he opted for in between rounds, saying:
“I had a little bit of food there in the players’ lounge and it did not sit well with me.
“I only ate a lasagna. I thought maybe have a little pasta and stuff, but for some reason it didn’t sit well with me and I just felt nauseous the whole front nine. In the afternoon, I felt like I was going to vomit pretty much on every hole.
I thought about stopping after nine. But I thought, ‘Well, let’s play a couple more and see if I get something going,’ but unfortunately it didn’t happen.”
There is still one spot up at The Open for grabs via the Last-Chance Qualifier that will be held for the first time a few days before the tournament gets underway. However, Sergio does not fit the criteria when it comes to the selection process that will be used to determine which golfers will participate, so he’ll have to wait until next year to get another shot.