GOLF.com: Sergio Garcia Misses Open Qualifying, Cites Pre-Round Lasagna for Afternoon Collapse

Garcia's Qualifying Bid Derailed by Nausea

Sergio Garcia arrived at West Lancashire Golf Club with a clear mission: earn a spot in The Open Championship. His morning 36-hole split looked promising — a 4-under 68 suggested the 2017 Masters champion still had the game for links golf. But the afternoon told a different story entirely.

Garcia carded a 75 in the second round, finishing seven shots outside the qualifying cut. The culprit, he explained to reporters, was a portion of lasagna consumed in the player's lounge between rounds.

"I Felt Like I Was Going to Vomit on Every Hole"

Garcia was candid about the physical toll. The pasta dish didn't sit well, and he said nausea plagued him from the very first hole of his afternoon loop. He considered withdrawing after nine holes but pressed on hoping conditions would improve. They didn't.

"I struggled very much in my first nine holes in the afternoon — nauseous and I felt like I was going to puke pretty much every single hole."

A Difficult Season for a Major Champion

The LIV Golf veteran has now played in 26 Open Championships with two runner-up finishes to his name, but his path back to the field has grown narrower since leaving the PGA Tour. This marks the second time in three years he has had to attempt final qualifying. His only major start in 2026 was the Masters, where he finished T52 and received a code of conduct warning after smashing the tee box and a cooler on the 2nd hole.

Looking Ahead

Garcia said his target is a return to the world top 50, which would restore his exemption into major fields and eliminate the need for qualifying rounds. Based on his morning score, the physical tools are still there — the challenge is everything around the game.

Strokeslab Perspective

From a performance-data standpoint, a 7-shot swing between two rounds on the same course in one day is extreme. While we lack hole-by-hole SG data from final qualifying, Garcia's account is a reminder that physical readiness is a non-negotiable variable in scoring consistency — even for elite ball-strikers.