Sergio Garcia suffers Open heartache and continues to pay price for LIV Golf move

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JULY 02: Sergio Garcia tees off during Final Qualifying for the Open at The West Lancashire Golf Club on July 02, 2024 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Jan Kruger/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

LIV Golf's Sergio Garcia has again missed the cut for The Open Championship, falling tantalisingly short by a mere two strokes in Final Qualifying at West Lancashire Golf Club on Tuesday.

The Spanish golfer was gunning for his 100th major championship appearance, as he took on the challenge of the 36-hole event with high hopes. Despite a respectable one-under-par 70 in the opening round amid challenging conditions, Garcia knew he had an uphill battle in the second stretch of 18.

Inching closer with a better afternoon score, Garcia's three-under for the week wasn't enough, leaving him on the sidelines of Royal Troon later this month. The frustration was palpable for Garcia, who for the second consecutive year, felt the sting of narrowly missing British Open qualification.

Afterwards, the ex-Masters champion couldn't hide his disappointment, having come so close to marking his major milestone at a beloved event. "I was fighting as hard as I could to make it through," confessed Garcia to the press.

"It would have been a dream come true to make The Open my 100th major because I love The Open, everybody knows how much I love playing here in the UK and you could see it with the amount of people we had following our group this year and last year.", reports the Mirror US.

Sergio Garcia has had to battle through qualifying for both the British and US Open in recent times, feeling the pinch from his plunge down the rankings after joining LIV Golf. The move cost the one-time PGA Tour heavyweight his automatic entries into three of golf's four majors.

But there's a glimmer of hope for Garcia as he still holds a lifetime invitation to The Masters thanks to his 2017 triumph, ensuring his 100th major will be at the iconic Augusta National next April.

"It is a little bit disappointing [The Open not being major 100]," Garcia admitted. "I guess though it will be The Masters which is also not a bad choice. It would have been nice to be at Troon. The only thing I can do is come here and give it everything I have and see what happens. I'm going to be a little short, but that is life, and that is golf."

Despite the challenges faced by players associated with LIV Golf, it wasn't all doom and gloom at the West Lancashire qualifiers. Majesticks GC's Sam Horsfield secured his spot at Royal Troon, sharing the top spot with English amateur Matthew Dodd-Berry after finishing six-under-par over 36 holes. Daniel Brown from England and Japan's Masahiro Kawamura snagged the last two qualifying places.