Sergio Garcia has never made a secret of the fact that The Open Championship is his favorite of the four majors, which is a common theme among European players.
As a member of LIV Golf, it's much more challenging for the 45-year-old Spaniard to gain entry into the majors these days. The lone exception, of course, is The Masters, which he won in 2017, thus giving him a lifetime exemption at Augusta National.
As for The Open, though, Garcia must earn his way into this year's field at Royal Portrush, which isn't easy considering that LIV Golf still doesn't receive points in the Official World Golf Ranking.
The Spaniard can earn points on the DP World Tour, which he rejoined late last year, and the Asian Tour, but he's still working his way back up in that regard after falling to as low as No. 773 last June.
As such, the easiest way for Garcia to gain entry into golf's oldest major is to perform well in one of the tourneys that make up The Open Qualifying Series, one of which was held this past weekend as the Asian Tour held its annual International Series Macau event in China.
There were three spots in The Open up for grabs at Macau Golf and Country Club, and Garcia put himself right in the mix with rounds of 65, 66, and 69 over the first three days. But while he fared well on Sunday, he came up one shot short of where he needed to be, missing his chance to qualify in agonizing fashion on the very last hole.
Sergio Garcia missed a three-foot putt on the 18th hole, costing himself a shot at The Open Championship
Garcia was never going to win the International Series Macau, as Sunday's final round was a two-man showdown for the title between Carloz Ortiz and Patrick Reed.
Ortiz, who fired a course-record 61 in the second round, ultimately pulled away with a 6-under 64 on the par-70 layout to earn a three-shot win over Reed, who closed his week with a 3-under 67 to take solo second.
With Ortiz and Reed locking up the first two automatic berths in The Open, the third came down to Garcia and Jason Kokrak.
As mentioned, Sergio played well on Sunday, ultimately shooting a 5-under 65. That said, however, he had a chance to shoot 64, as he gave himself a three-foot putt for birdie at the 18th, one that also would have gotten him into the British.
But it wasn't to be, as Garcia missed the putt, thus leaving him in solo fourth at 15-under. Kokrak shot 67, finishing in solo third at 16-under to earn the final exemption.
Had Sergio made the putt, he would've taken the spot at The Open, not Kokrak, as the tiebreaker—ironic as it may be—was based on which player had the higher world ranking. Garcia entered the week at No. 513, while Kokrad sat in the 775th position.
Despite the setback, all hope isn't yet lost for Garcia, who can still make his way into The Open.
For one, the R&A announced recently that the leading player not already exempt in the top five of the 2025 LIV Golf Individual Standings following the final round of LIV Golf Dallas on June 29 will gain entry into the field at Royal Portrush.
Garcia, who owns a victory on the Saudi-backed series this season in Hong Kong, currently sits in third in the standings behind only Joaquin Niemann and Jon Rahm, both of whom are already exempt.
The Italian Open could have been another option, as it's part of the Qualifying Series, but the LIV event in Dallas is that same weekend.
Then, of course, there's Regional and Final Qualifying, which is the route Sergio attempted to take last year, coming up short by two strokes in the Final stage at Liverpool's West Lancashire Golf Club.