"You made your bed. No sympathy here" - Fans criticize Sergio Garcia for seeking 2024 Open Championship exemption after failed qualification attempt

Sergio Garcia left the PGA Tour to join the LIV Golf league in 2022. The Fireballs GC captain has played in 99 Major championships and was seeking to record his 100th at the 2024 Open Championship.

However, Garcia did not fare well at the Open Championship Qualifying event. The LIV Golf star blamed the spectator crowds for his slow play and performance and proceeded to get into a heated exchange with the R&A rules officials.

Soon after, Garcia seemingly agreed with a fan on X (formerly Twitter) that he shouldn't have to qualify for the Major championship and that he deserves an invitation to play the prestigious event.

Golf fans online were quick to criticize the Spanish golfer for his statement. One fan wrote:

"You made your bed. No sympathy here. "

Another user stated that Garcia had a fair chance to gain a spot on the 2024 Open Championship field through the qualifying but had failed to perform. They wrote:

"You had the opportunity and failed, now you want it for nothing. Not how it works "

Garcia has previously had a few spats with rules officials on the course. A user seemingly alluded to this and wrote:

"Sergio is not missed by anyone. His relevance has diminished mainly due to his antics and foul temper on the course."

Here are a few other fans' reactions to Sergio Garcia's outburst regarding the 2024 Open Championship Qualifying event.

"Plenty of other players out there who are grinding silently waiting for the moment they win to qualify.. meanwhile this dude just wants a free walk into the big events," a user wrote.

"I believe the ability to qualify is the "opportunity" to play. No free rides for those that chose to take a big payday," another user commented.

"You play for LIV, of course, you just want things handed to you," a fan opined.

Sergio Garcia 2024 LIV Golf season

The Spaniard has played in nine events on the LIV Golf league so far this year. He ranks seventh on the league's individual leaderboard with 83.24 points. Sergio Garcia captains Abraham Ancer, Eugenio Chacarra, and David Puig on the Fireballs GC team. The team ranks in eighth place in the team standings with 62.83 points.

Garcia recorded his best finish on the Saudi-backed league at the season-opening event in Mayakoba where he finished solo second place. Here's a look at Garcia's finishes on the LIV Golf league this season:

LIV Golf Invitational - Mayakoba - 2nd
LIV Golf Invitational - Las Vegas - 26th
LIV Golf Invitational - Jeddah - 15th
LIV Golf Invitational - Hong Kong - 38th
LIV Golf Invitational - Miami - 2nd
LIV Golf Invitational - Adelaide - 40th
LIV Golf Invitational - Singapore - 14th
LIV Golf Invitational - Houston - 5th
LIV Golf Invitational - Nashville - 18th

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 Florida, 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 Prathik BR