Garcia "Can't believe I missed a 1m putt..."

Missed Birdie Putt on Final Hole at Asian Tour Macau
Falls One Stroke Short, Ties for 4th and Misses The Open Berth
Ortiz, Reed, and Kokrak Secure Major Championship Spots

Sergio Garcia (Spain) missed out on a spot in this year's The Open due to a painful mistake.

Sergio Garcia

On the 18th hole (par 5) of the final round at the Asian Tour International Series Macau (total prize money $2 million) held at Macau Golf & Country Club (par 70, 6,713 yards) on the 23rd (local time), he missed a birdie putt less than 1 meter away. After getting the ball on the green in two shots and placing his first putt about 1 meter from the hole, it seemed he would easily make the birdie, but the birdie putt missed the hole. Because of this missed birdie putt, Garcia finished tied for 4th place (15 under par, 265 strokes).

If he had made the birdie, Garcia would have tied for 3rd place (16 under par, 264 strokes) with Jason Kokrak (USA). This tournament is one of The Open qualifying tournaments that grants entry to the top three players for the major championship, The Open. Priority is given to the player with the higher world ranking among the tied 3rd place finishers. Garcia, ranked 513th in the world, is higher than Kokrak, who is ranked 775th, so if he had finished tied for 3rd, the spot for The Open would have gone to Garcia.

Thanks to his 2017 Masters victory, Garcia had no trouble qualifying for major tournaments for a while, but after moving to LIV Golf, he stopped receiving world ranking points, causing his ranking to drop continuously, and he has not appeared in The Open or the PGA Championship in the past two years. He did participate in the US Open through qualifying rounds. Garcia will have to aim for a spot in The Open through the remaining Open qualifying tournaments or the LIV Golf points ranking. Players ranked within the top 5 in the LIV Golf points ranking by June will be able to participate in The Open.

Meanwhile, Carlos Ortiz (Mexico, 22 under par, 258 strokes), who won the International Series Macau, Patrick Reed (USA, 19 under par, 261 strokes) in 2nd place, and Kokrak in 3rd place?all LIV Golf players?secured their spots in The Open.