Garcia Exposes LIV Golf’s ‘Good, Bad and Ugly’ After Quitting

The PGA Tour and DP World Tour now have an obvious decision to make with the likes of Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood.

Garcia, Westwood and Ian Poulter were three of the most outspoken supporters of LIV Golf over the past several years.

All three left the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour in 2022 to join the Saudi-backed league.

Only Garcia has won on LIV since then, with victories in Spain in 2024 and Hong Kong in 2025.

Now that LIV Golf appears likely to fold or operate on a much smaller scale, all three have abandoned the league.

Garcia confirmed last week that he will return to the DP World Tour full-time in 2027.

He described the circuit as his "home" and said he was proud to be back.

The 46-year-old also apologized for his conduct at the Masters in April, which earned the first code-of-conduct warning in the tournament's history.

But his return has not been met with universal applause.

Eddie Pepperell, a two-time DP World Tour winner, responded to Garcia's announcement on X with a pointed question.

"This has to be Sergio trolling us? Surely," Pepperell wrote.

"Elite level s***housery, this. Or has he got dementia?"

Pepperell, 35, finished 101st in the Race to Dubai this season, one spot short of a full playing card for 2027.

He will not have full playing status next season and is likely to miss some of the circuit's biggest events.

Despite the jab, Pepperell acknowledged Garcia's talent.

"To be clear, I think Sergio Garcia is still a wonderful player," Pepperell said.

"He was my favourite golfer growing up, ahead of Tiger."

Garcia responded to the jibe in an interview with GolfMagic.

"I've always liked Eddie," Garcia said.

"I hope that he finds his game, obviously he's been struggling and when that happens you take your frustration on whatever you can."

Then Garcia added a more pointed remark.

"It became a little more difficult when it was costing me almost $2 million to play on Tour because of the fines," Garcia said.

He was referring to the financial sanctions the DP World Tour imposed on players who joined LIV without release.

Garcia also addressed Pepperell's suggestion that the DP World Tour had not declined.

"If Eddie doesn't think that the Tour kind of went down a little bit the last few years, then obviously he doesn't want to see the reality of it," Garcia said.

"We are hoping to help out as much as we can and make sure that the DP World Tour keeps growing."

Garcia's relationship with the DP World Tour has been complicated for years.

During a rules dispute at the 2022 Wells Fargo Championship, he declared, "I can't wait to leave this tour."

He also reportedly described the DP World Tour as "s**t" during the BMW International Open in 2022.

At the same event, he argued that fellow professionals should have accepted Saudi money.

Those comments make his latest description of the circuit as home difficult for some to accept.

Garcia maintains that financial sanctions, not a lack of affection, made his continued membership untenable.

He paid nearly $2 million in fines to remain a DP World Tour member while playing LIV events.

Pepperell is not the only one questioning the sincerity of Garcia's return.

Several golf commentators have noted that Garcia, Westwood and Poulter followed the money when they joined LIV and are now doing the same thing by leaving.

The question now is whether the PGA Tour and DP World Tour should welcome them back without consequences.

Garcia, Westwood and Poulter have done irreversible damage to their legacies by joining LIV in the first place, according to some critics.

But the bigger issue, in the view of some observers, is how they treated those who criticized LIV.

Westwood, Poulter and Garcia specifically talked down to anyone who had a bad thing to say about the league.

It was not just the fact that they criticized them, but the manner in which they did it.

They took a position of being superior to LIV detractors.

Actions have consequences, and their actions should prevent them from ever playing on the DP World Tour or PGA Tour again, some argue.

That may sound harsh, but life is about people getting what they deserve, according to this line of thinking.

In the view of some commentators, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter do not deserve a second chance, such was the ignobility of their behavior.

Another point that has been raised is that none of them has much to offer at the highest level anymore.

Their games have dropped off drastically from their pre-LIV years.

The DP World Tour does not need them and the PGA Tour certainly does not need them, some argue.

They were all so committed to LIV Golf, which is fair enough.

However, they were dishonest about their reasons for joining the league in the first place.

And there is no doubt in some minds that they should have shown more humility than they did.

Garcia, for his part, is focused on what comes next.

"I am just focusing on what's ahead and being back on the DP World Tour and doing my best, and being the best version of myself on and off the golf course," he told GolfMagic.

"I want to support the Tour as much as I can and hopefully help the Tour become better and better."

Garcia joined the European Tour, now the DP World Tour, as an affiliate member in 1999.

He has 16 wins on the circuit, including a major championship at the 2017 Masters.

He has also kept the possibility of a PGA Tour return open.

But the PGA Tour has its own decisions to make about players who resigned their membership to join LIV.