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Sergio Garcia may be eligible for the Hall of Fame, but he expressed concern after his controversial LIV Golf decision.
Sergio Garcia is one of the names eligible for the next Golf Hall of Fame ballot. However, his choice to pick LIV Golf over the PGA Tour may cost him getting inducted. There are three players born in 1980 that will be on the 2026 ballot — Garcia, Adam Scott and Justin Rose.
Garcia weighed in on who among those three could be selected for the 2026 class, per Golf Channel.
“I went to LIV, so I’m probably a little behind,” Garcia said. “Even though things are settling down. If I didn’t go to LIV and everything that happened, probably me.”
He believed Scott would be selected of the three, but all three have worthy resumes to get that selection. Scott has 29 wins all over the world, including the 2013 Masters and the 2004 Players Championship.
The Spaniard has 31 worldwide wins. He won the 2017 Masters in a playoff ironically over Rose. Garcia also won the 2017 Players Championship, golf’s unofficial fifth major.
Not to mention Garcia holds the record for most Ryder Cup points at 28.5. He played at the 2021 Ryder Cup and went 3-1 at Whistling Straits. He is perceived as one of the most effective Ryder Cup players of all-time.
LIV Golf and the PGA Tour may have come to terms, but the tension remains. The U.S. Senate is investigating the blockbuster deal, and has asked PGA Tour Commission Jay Monahan and LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman to testify. Scott and Rose chose to stay with the PGA Tour, but Garcia is the only one among those eligible for that ballot to leave.
Garcia played in the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club after qualifying. He made the cut but finished even par and T27. There is still a long time until this ballot gets put on the table, so his statement may not even be accurate by then.