Matt Fitzpatrick would welcome Sergio Garcia onto Europe's Ryder Cup team - 'I just want to win'

ByAlex Livie

Updated 29/12/2022 at 09:53 GMT

The Ryder Cup is coming into focus, with the latest battle between Team Europe and United States under a year away. Europe captain Luke Donald has potential issues to deal with due to defection of a host of big names to LIV Golf, but Matt Fitzpatrick feels the splits should be cast aside for one week to allow the best players to be made available for selection.

Matt Fitzpatrick believes splits in the game should be cast aside to allow LIV Golf players to compete in the Ryder Cup, and would be happy to room with Sergio Garcia if it helped secure glory for Team Europe in Rome.

The emergence of LIV Golf earlier in the year drove a wedge through the game, with a host of big names lured to the Saudi-funded series by mega contracts and huge prize funds.

Garcia was one of the first high-profile names to jump ship, with his move particularly acrimonious due to the manner of the Spaniard’s departure.

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The 2017 Masters champion was particularly critical of the PGA Tour in the days leading up to his departure, petulantly saying to a rules official "a couple more weeks, and I won't have to deal with you anymore" following an issue over a lost ball at the Wells Fargo Championship.

Garcia has fallen out with Rory McIlroy, who revealed the pair exchanged barbs, and also said he felt it best if he did not make himself available for Ryder Cup selection due to the bad blood.

While the United States has confirmed no LIV players will be made available to captain Zach Johnson, European officials have not yet confirmed their position for Luke Donald.

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The inclusion of the likes of Garcia - who is not eligible as things stand as he did not meet the criteria for selection in 2022 - and Ian Poulter would certainly raise eyebrows, not least for their lack of form, but US Open champion Fitzpatrick would bury the hatchet if it helped Europe wrestle the Ryder Cup back from the United States.

"Sergio would be the one that would stand out for me, particularly," Fitzpatrick told Sky Sports. "I don't know the details of [his relationship with McIlroy].

"I'm happy to share a room with him, if that's going to be the case, I can corner him off for everyone else.

"I think there definitely are a few personal relationships that have been dented by this.

"I'm not bothered, I just want to win, and I'm sure those boys do too."

‘The goal is to play the major championships and one or two more’ - Tiger

With Garcia, Poulter, Lee Westwood and Paul Casey seemingly out of the running for selection for next year’s clash at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, Fitzpatrick believes there will be a younger feel to Europe’s team.

"I think it's definitely going to be a younger team," Fitzpatrick said. "The young lads are going to have to step up their game and play a lot better to compete with the Americans, because their depth is better than ours, there's no hiding that."

The Ryder Cup takes place in Rome from September 29 to October 1, with the United States defending the title they won at Whistling Straits in 2021.

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