From hero to zero: Sergio Garcia crestfallen following Ryder Cup snub

Garcia has been playing on the breakaway LIV Golf tour where Ryder Cup points aren't available. But with his record 28.5 points across ten Ryder Cups, he was hoping for captain and old playing partner Luke Donald to pick him outright.

But when Donald revealed his picks this week, the Spaniard's name was a notable omission. Instead, he chose Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, Matt Fitzpatrick and Sepp Straka.

In the wake of the announcement, Garcia withdrew from the Irish Open at The K Club, citing emotional fatigue.

"The call with Luke was fine but not the call I wanted, obviously," the 45-year-old told GolfMagic on Monday.

"Now, the only thing I can do is support the team from home. It's as simple as that. I'll be watching and cheering on the European team.

"I felt like I was so looking forward to being a part of that tea. And so I felt like mentally, you know, mentally it was kind of tough. I didn't want to go there and not be fully engaged in the tournament and stuff, so I just decided to take a little bit of time off and spend it with the family and do a couple of things, you know, some things outside of golf and just kind of reboot a little bit, recharge the batteries."

Garcia has been a member of every European Ryder Cup team since 1999, with the exception of 2010 and 2023. At the 2020 edition, he won the inaugural Nicklaus-Jacklin Award, given to the player whose teamwork, sportsmanship, performance and decisions epitomised the spirit of the Ryder Cup.

The 2017 Masters winner was seen in the crowd at the US Open in New York this week, supporting countryman Carlos Alcaraz. The duo are reportedly set for a friendly on the golf course.