THE 153RD OPEN

July 20, 2025

Sergio Garcia

Mixed Zone

Q. How would you sum up your week?

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, it's always amazing to be back here and play in front of these crowds on these kinds of golf courses. I would have loved to play better, of course, but it's always a treat. Everybody knows that this is my favourite major, so it's always good to be back.

Q. Maybe the last chance to impress the European captain, and you played really well today. How is it as an audition for Ryder Cup?

SERGIO GARCIA: I don't know, you'll have to ask him. I don't think it's the last chance, to be totally honest. I think there's still a good amount of weeks left.

At the end of the day, I've just got to do what I can. I've got to try to play the best I can, and then we'll see what happens.

Q. The fact you're here proves or suggests that your form has been very good for the last year or so, hasn't it?

SERGIO GARCIA: The last two years has been good. Obviously a little bit of a dip after the Masters. Played nicely last week at Valderrama. I played nicely in Dallas, I just had a couple of bad finishes in a couple of rounds. Then obviously played very nicely in Valderrama, didn't really putt well at all and still finished top 10.

Obviously this week I felt like my game was on and off a little bit. Still managed to shoot three rounds under par. Obviously the conditions were quite nice yesterday and today. I guess you still have to go out and do it.

Q. Just regarding the Ryder Cup again, could you tell us how much you've spoken to Luke about it and how much it would mean to you to get back on that team?

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, we've been talking. It's no secret that we have been talking. It would mean the world to me to be there. Obviously if I can help the team, that's my main goal, I've always said it.

I think that I can bring things to the team that -- to any team that would probably need it. Obviously at the end of the day, he's going to make whatever he thinks is the best decision for him and his team, at the end of the day. So we'll see.

Q. You and Jon were so effective together in America. It's going to be the same sort of hostile environment. You've got experience at that. That would be invaluable, again. Jon wants you there, doesn't he?

SERGIO GARCIA: You would think so. Jon and I are good friends. We played well when we played at Whistling Straits. I was watching a few YouTube videos this week on our matches there. We had a great time. We gel nicely together. Obviously it's easy to play with Jon because he's so good.

It's still a couple months to go. I wish I could have a crystal ball and see the future, but unfortunately, I cannot.

Q. Can I just ask you in the greater context, you've been assured by Luke that the decision is purely on golfing terms rather than any political considerations?

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, for sure. That's what he's told me. Yeah, it's just about how my game is and what I can bring, what I can add to the team, as simple as that.

Q. Just add to that, he said ahead of the PGA that he was going to prioritise experience in his picks over younger rookies. Have you had that same conversation with him? Has that given you a little bit of extra hope?

SERGIO GARCIA: We've had a few conversations. At the end of the day, yes. Obviously going into the U.S., going into New York, experience is always good, mostly because you're still going to have some rookies there, and I think those experienced guys have a great job to do there to make sure that those rookies know what they're getting into, even though Luke has been doing a great job of bringing a lot of information to the potential players that are going to be there.

At the end of the day, when you're out there on the course, it's nice to have one of those experienced guys to put their arm around you and make you feel like don't worry, I've got you, when people are shouting at you and screaming and wishing you all the bad things that you can think of.

Yeah, it's easy to kind of go get in a little shell and kind of get smaller. I was very fortunate to play with Jesper in '99 as a rookie. He made it so easy for me. Obviously we played great, but he made it so much fun and so easy for me to really enjoy the moment and enjoy the Ryder Cup, even being away as tough as the crowds might be.

Q. Regardless of what happens in September, is captaincy back on the table for you in the future?

SERGIO GARCIA: Yes, obviously that's something that -- I don't want to think about it yet, but it's something that obviously would be a nice thing, a nice honour to have. I really don't want to think about that right now. I've got my mind on other things.

Q. What would you have shot today with 14 clubs?

SERGIO GARCIA: I started with 14. I don't know, maybe I would have shot worse. You never know.

Q. Was that the fire in you again and being frustrated that you haven't played even better this week?

SERGIO GARCIA: To be totally honest, the last two or three months have been really tough the way I've played, and I controlled myself very, very well. To be totally honest, I didn't feel like I did that much on the 2nd tee. Obviously I didn't hit a good drive, and I kind of -- I didn't smack it straight down. I kind of like swiped it back. I've done that 50 times, and I've never broken a club. The shaft just snapped in half, and I was surprised. I wasn't trying to break it, and I was actually surprised when I saw that -- because usually, if it breaks, it breaks by the neck, and it broke in the middle of the shaft.

I don't know, maybe the shaft had a little thing there because I didn't feel like with what I did it should have broken, but that's what it was, and then I got some good practice when I threw it.

Q. You should have had a cricket bat.

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, you remember that. (Laughter). Start hitting sixes.

Q. It was a long time ago that you had success at Bethpage. Do you think that should factor into the decision at all?

SERGIO GARCIA: Well, it was a long time ago because I haven't played in a long time. I don't know, we'll see. It depends. That's obviously something nice to have. I've done really well there pretty much every time I've played there, I think. I'm sure the course is going to play totally different than when we played the U.S. Open and the Barclays, I think it was.

It will be interesting to see how it plays. Usually the American team sets it up with not a lot of rough and kind of giving a lot more room for their players to be able to kind of freewheel it a little bit. It's going to be interesting to see how the course will play like that.