LIV Golf: Garcia’s desire still burns bright, as Fireballs skipper eyes fast start to year
The Spaniard still has desire and passion to compete in his 27th year in the game ahead of Saudi league’s season opener in Riyadh on Wednesday
The 2026 LIV Golf season gets under way in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, and for Sergio Garcia it marks the start of a 27th year on tour, not that another trip around the sun has dulled the Spaniard’s desire.
Garcia finished in a tie for fourth in the Bahrain Championship on the DP World Tour last weekend, a stroke behind winner Freddy Schott, and goes into his latest LIV campaign seeking another fast start.
His Fireballs GC won three of the first four events of the 2025 season, in Adelaide, Hong Kong, where Garcia also claimed the individual title, and Singapore.
Three podiums in the final four events of the regular season followed, although eighth place at the team championship made for a disappointing end to the campaign.
Still, an off-season where Abraham Ancer left to join rivals Torque GC and Luis Masaveu returned to complete an all-Spanish line-up alongside David Puig and Josele Ballester has Garcia once again fired up for what lies ahead.
“I still love it,” the 46-year-old said. “I’ve been out here for 26 years. I think that the excitement of it, the excitement with the teams and everything that it brings for me, not only playing wise but to be a little bit of a mentor to the three kids in my team.