McIlroy: “Sergio (Garcia) Was My Favourite Player & He Definitely Inspired Me”.

10 months ago by Comments Off on McIlroy: “Sergio (Garcia) Was My Favourite Player & He Definitely Inspired Me”.

Despite the still unresolved division in the men’s professional game those that make a living competing inside the ropes still seem to show enormous respect to their fellow golfers no matter what tour they represent.

Take five time DP World Tour No. 1 Rory Mcllroy who spoke warmly of Sergio Garcia and how the super Spaniard inspired him in his early years as a professional.

Though that was not the scenario a few years back when Garcia and McIlroy had a huge falling out that looked like ruining a previously close friendship.

When Garcia signed with LIV, he labelled McIlroy “immature” over some of McIlroy’s anti-LIV comments but in speaking at last years LIV event at Valderrama Garcia revealed that after getting together at the US Open:  “I have got my friend back”.

Now it seemed to be McIlroy’s turn as he was asked ahead of this week’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship the impact Seve Ballasteros had on him growing-up and while McIlroy naturally would never have seen Seve compete, the Northern Irishman singled out Garcia, and who is just nine years older than him, for special praise.

And while McIlroy has now won some 40 times in his professional career and three more than Garcia the pair will be always be linked via the Ryder Cup having been team-mates in six European sides – 2010 (winners), 2012 (winners), 2014 (winners), 2016, 2018 (winners) and 2021.

“Yeah, when Sergio was coming through — especially in the PGA in ’99 at Medinah running up the fairway, Sergio was my favourite player for a lot of years. Sergio definitely inspired me”, said McIlroy.

“And then when I got to playing on tour and getting to play on Ryder Cup teams and stuff with him, it was a dream come true for me to play so closely and to partner with one of my favourite heros growing up”.

Also with the release of the 2025 DPWT season schedule McIlroy was also reminded that it has been 13-years, and the 2011 Volvo Match-Play at Finca Cortesin on the Costa del Sole that he last teed-up on Spanish soil.

“Yeah, I think Finca Cortesin  was the last time I played in Spain in the Match Play tournament”, he said.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of different places I would like to go and play. I think for me after the summer in America and I play the Irish only and Wentworth and the Dunhill, typically, or at least some years, there’s only so many tournaments you can play.

“But I would love to go back and play The Spanish Open and The French Open. I’ve talked about this for a while about the importance of some of these national Opens, and they are some of the most historic tournaments that we have in the game.

“So yeah, I would certainly like to go back and play in front of the Spanish fans eventually. It’s just a matter of trying to make it all work. And there’s an event at Valderrama every year but I can’t play in that one, unfortunately”.

 



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