Sergio García received excellent news on Saturday night. The PGA of America had extended an invitation for him to play the second Major of the year, the PGA Championship. It will be held at Quail Hollow, Charlotte, from 15th to 18th May this year. Immediately, the golfer from Borriol felt a special thrill. Firstly, for playing another Major, something he values greatly at this stage of his career, secondly for returning to the PGA Championship, the Major he hasn’t played for the longest time, and thirdly for being at Quail Hollow, a course that ranks very, very high on his list of favourites. This is confirmed by Sergio himself to Ten Golf.
“The truth is I’m very happy to have received this invitation thanks to how I played last year. I’m really looking forward to returning to the PGA Championship, a special tournament, where I’ve done very well in the past, where I’ve been very close to winning twice,” he assures from Saudi Arabia, while preparing for his debut this Thursday in Riyadh in the new LIV Golf season.
Sergio hasn’t played the PGA Championship since 2022, the last time he could play all four Majors. His entry into LIV Golf caused a drop in the world ranking, falling out of the top 100, who traditionally qualify each year for this Major, and his performance in the Saudi league in 2022 and 2023, as well as in the Majors, was not good enough for the PGA of America to consider him worthy of a special invitation. However, his good results in 2024 in LIV, where he finished third in the ranking, along with his victory in Valderrama, his two playoffs in Mexico and Miami, as well as his notable performance in the US Open, have ensured he has a ticket for the second Major of the year this year.
Sergio has fond memories of the PGA, and rightly so. In this tournament, he was in contention to win a Major for the first time in his career, back in 1999 at Medinah. He doesn’t forget it. “That tournament put me on the map in world golf, the battle with Tiger Woods was very beautiful, I had the chance to win, and it opened the doors to the Ryder Cup that year. It’s a Major that has been quite good to me, with good results,” he explains. The other second place was in 2008, when he fell in a final showdown against Padraig Harrington. This occasion was more painful than 1999. He had been in contention more times to win a Major and couldn’t quite clinch it, and he lost to the same rival who had taken the Open Championship from him a year earlier at Carnoustie.
In any case, looking at the overall numbers, beyond the triumph at the Masters, the PGA Championship and the Open Championship are the only two Majors where Sergio has two second places. Additionally, the PGA is the only one where he has three top 3 finishes. He’s been close.
Similarly, unless something unusual happens, the PGA Championship will be the 101st Major of his career, a figure that is within reach of very few players throughout history (we report it in the Provisional Ball). “Being the first after reaching a milestone of 100 at the Masters is also something very nice, it’s special,” he highlights.
The six-shot lead and the playoff at Quail Hollow in 2005
Finally, the thrill of Quail Hollow, the PGA venue, a course that is significant in Sergio García‘s career. He has played eleven tournaments there, ten on the PGA Tour (Wachovia Championship and Wells Fargo) and the 2017 PGA Championship. “Quail Hollow is a course I’ve played well in the past, and hopefully, I can play well again,” he notes. Specifically, in eleven appearances, he has only missed the cut twice and was close to winning in 2005. His first three rounds that week were a major exhibition. He shot 66, 71, and 67 and went out to play on Sunday as the leader with a six-shot advantage. He made par in the final round and ended up tying with Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk.
Sergio fell on the first playoff hole after missing a two-metre putt for par, and Vijay took the victory. The great Vijay. It was his third win that year, and it was only May. “I don’t think Sergio lost the tournament. He played spectacularly the first three days, and today he didn’t shoot five or six over, he had a good par round. I think it’s more my merit for shooting six under on the last day than his demerit. It’s not easy to go out and play on Sunday with a big lead, and I say that because I’ve experienced it myself,” declared the fabulous Fijian player at the time.
Although it may seem like a painful memory, Sergio sees it differently. He played really well all week on a course that boasts being one of the most demanding in the world, similar to Valderrama. That’s why, along with the Sotogrande and Riviera courses, Quail Hollow is always high on García’s list of favourites.
Sergio has played 40 rounds of golf at Quail Hollow, with an average score of just over 71. Eleven of his rounds were below 70, and his best result is a 65 in the third round of the 2019 Wells Fargo, when he finished fourth. In the 2017 PGA, the year he won the Masters de Augusta, he played the first two rounds with Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth and missed the cut with rounds of 75 and 75.
Objective: four Majors and return to the DP World Tour in Munich
The thrill is above the numbers. Sergio values every Major he plays, as he did in last year’s US Open at Pinehurst. It’s a different mindset. In fact, one of his main goals in 2025 is to play all four again. To do this, “if nothing changes, I’ll play the qualifiers for the US Open and the British,” he states. For something to change means winning the Masters or the PGA. Finally, García confirms to Ten Golf that his first tournament on the DP World Tour in 2025, which will mark his return after regaining membership, will be the BMW International Open in Munich in July, just before the LIV at Valderrama. “If nothing changes, I’ll play my first regular DP World Tour tournament since the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in 2022,” he notes. Almost three years later.
