Europe captain Thomas Bjorn has confirmed that Ryder Cup veteran Sergio Garcia will be considered as a captain’s pick like any of his peers, without preferential treatment.
Garcia’s world ranking has drifted to 27th after a poor 2018 in which he failed to back up his Major breakthrough from Augusta in 2017.
The Spaniard’s presence in the team has been a galvanising one and has earned his side 22.5 points with five victories to his name. His experience will count, but not as much as many of his fans would’ve liked, with Bjorn weighing up his options.
‘Certain players bring certain things to a certain environment and with Sergio, you have to take into consideration what he is as a human being and what he brings to a team,’ Bjorn told Sky Sports.
‘If that’s enough for him to be in this team, which is going to be a very strong European Ryder Cup team, time will tell when we go through all those discussions.
‘I’ve made no promises to Sergio and I won’t disregard him, that’s for sure. What he has done in the past and what he brings to a European Ryder Cup team is strong, but you’ve also got to be able to play the golf on the golf course.
‘There are 10 or 15 things that come into consideration. With him, he falls into the same rules as everyone else and we’ll see what decision we make.’
Garcia has missed just one Ryder Cup since 1999 but will face competition from compatriot Rafa Cabrera-Bello and fellow stars Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Henrik Stenson for a place on the team to face the USA at Le Golf National in Paris in a month’s time.
