"Another MC for Sergio Garcia"; "So LIV does matter?" - Fans divided over veteran Spaniard’s 2025 Open Championship qualification

Sergio Garcia has secured a spot in the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush. This year's edition will mark his first appearance at the Major championship since 2022.

The Spaniard earned his way into the field through the LIV Golf Points List. Garcia was the highest-placed LIV Golf player inside the top five on the Points Leaderboard this week in Dallas. NUCLR Golf shared the news on X (formerly known as Twitter) and garnered mixed reactions about the qualification.

🚨✅⛳️ #QUALIFIED — Sergio Garcia has qualified for The Open Championship at Royal Portrush after gaining entry through the LIV points list. It will be Garcia’s first appearance since the 2022 tournament.

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Sergio Garcia has played the Open Championship 25 times and made the cut 20 times. One fan took to the comments section of NUCLR Golf's post to suggest that he will miss the cut this year. The fan wrote (via X @66chevycowboy):

"Another MC for Sergio."

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LIV Golf has faced a battle with the United States Golf Association and R&A since its inception in 2022 over exemptions for their players. This year in February, the R&A announced an exemption for the leading player in the top 5 of LIV's individual standings.

One golf enthusiast's comment implied that LIV Golf does "matter" in Major championships. The X user wrote (via X @botstpetersburg):

"So LIV does matter?"

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This year marks the maiden year the Saudi-based league has had exemptions into Majors. Leading up to the event, only LIV Golfers who had prior exemptions like that of a past winner were able to compete at golf's biggest stage. One fan noted the league's pathway to Major championships.

The fan wrote, "I thought they said LIV guys didn't have a good path to majors? Well look at that?"

Here are a few other fans' reactions to Sergio Garcia's exemption into the 2025 Open Championship (via X @NUCLRGolf):

"Another missed cut loading," commented an X user.

A fan wrote, "Great news! Go Sergio."

"So, this doesn’t move the needle at all," stated a golf enthusiast.

Although Sergio Garcia tied for 25th place at this week's LIV Golf Dallas and earned zero points, he is the leading player on the points list who does not have a prior exemption. The Fireballs GC captain ranks 5th on the list with 78 points accumulated so far this season.

Sergio Garcia's Open Championship Record

Here's a look at Sergio Garcia's record at the Open Championship :

Tournament Stats:

Appearances - 25
Cuts Made - 20
Wins - 0
Second Place - 2
Third Place - 0
Top 5 Finishes - 5
Top 10 Finishes - 10
Top 25 Finishes - 13

Results:

1996 - CUT
1997 - Did not play
1998 - T29
1999 - CUT
2000 - T36
2001 - T9
2002 - T8
2003 - T10
2004 - CUT
2005 - T5
2006 - T5
2007 - 2nd place
2008 - T51
2009 - T38
2010 - T14
2011 - T9
2012 - CUT
2013 - T21
2014 - T2
2015 - T6
2016 - T5
2017 - T37
2018 - CUT
2019 - T67
2020 - No tournament due to COVID-19
2021 - T19
2022 - T68

About the author

Lathika is one of the newer additions to Sportskeeda’s budding golf journalism team and has brought plenty of in-game experience to the role. Having been a golfer for over 12 years now, some of her crowning achievements include winning titles on the Indian Golf Union Ladies tour and Junior Girls Amateur tour.

She currently competes in Division 1 golf in New York, and hopes to play in the U.S. Open and Chevron Championship one day. She is set to cover the 2025 Ryder Cup as well. She is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration and Management, and holds a Sports Marketing certification from Northwestern University, which helped her learn to draft press releases and ultimately transition into journalism.

Lathika has thus developed a knowledge base that allows her to view golf from both player, spectator and media lenses, enabling her to bring statistics, insights and an understanding of fan emotion together in her copies. She only uses verified information from reliable sources like the PGA TOUR.

Her favorite golfers are Nelly Korda and Tiger Woods, both for their playing style as well as their mental strength. Much of her time away from work is spent playing golf, but she also enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and learning new hobbies or upskilling.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua