Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images
It seemed like Sergio Garcia was going to clinch a spot in the British Open after giving himself the chance to sink a 3-foot putt in order to qualify. However, he ultimately ended up on the outside looking in after failing to take advantage of that golden opportunity.
Most golfers who’ve joined forced with LIV Golf have been handsomely rewarded on the financial front, but many of them face an uphill battle if they want to play in one of the sport’s four major tournaments due to how the field for those events is curated.
Last year, LIV waved the white flag after trying (and failing) to receive accreditation from the Official World Golf Ranking as its members have seen their spots on that list decline to varying degrees due to their inability to rack up points as frequently as the guys on the PGA Tour (Bryson DeChambeau is currently the highest of all LIV Golf members at #18).
The British Open extends an invite to people sitting in the Top 50 in the OWGR eight weeks before the tournament gets underway, and while a number of LIV Golfers are already ensured a spot in the field at Royal Portrush in 2025 (which is also the first year the event added an exemption for the league), there were plenty of others who were still in search of one as of last week.
There were three bids up for grabs at Asian Tour’s International Series Macau, as the first, second, and third-place finishers in that four-day affair that kicked off last Thursday were all slated to receive an invite.
The gold, silver, and bronze respectively went to LIV Golf’s Carlos Ortiz, Patrick Reed, and Jason Kokrak, with the last man on that list edging out Sergio Garcia by a single stroke.
However, the 45-year-old Spaniard probably should have made it when you consider he had a 3-foot putt for birdie on the 18th hole that would have led to him finishing in a tie for third with Kokrak at -16 and winning the tiebreaker based on their current OWGR position (Korak was sitting at #775 heading into the tournament, while Garcia was #513).
Garcia is currently sitting in third place in LIV’s individual rankings and could get the aforementioned exemption reserved for the highest-ranking member of the top five who hasn’t clinched a spot through other means; he’ll also have the chance to take care of business at some other local qualifiers that will be held before the 153rd iteration of the major gets underway on July 17th.