Sergio Garcia’s bid to qualify for the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale was derailed by a sudden bout of illness.

The 2017 Masters champion arrived at Final Qualifying in form. But after eating lunchtime lasagna in the players' lounge, he suffered severe nausea and struggled to complete the afternoon round, ultimately missing out on a qualifying spot.

"I had a little bit of food there in the players' lounge, and it did not sit well with me," Garcia told reporters afterward, including Today's Golfer's Ben Parsons.

"I only ate a lasagna…but for some reason it didn't sit well with me, and I just felt nauseous the whole front nine. In the afternoon, I felt like I was going to vomit pretty much on every hole."

He opened with a 4-under 68 and put himself right in the hunt for one of the five spots available for Royal Birkdale. But after lunch he shot a 3-over 75, finished 1 under for the day, and missed the playoff line by seven shots.

"I thought about stopping after nine,” Garcia added in the same interview. “But I thought, well, let’s play a couple more and see if I get something going, but unfortunately it didn’t happen."

Garcia sits outside the top 150 in the Official World Golf Ranking and finished 52nd at the 2026 Masters. His best result of the year came on the LIV circuit, a runner-up finish at LIV Golf Virginia.

"Obviously I love The Open, and I want to give myself as many chances as possible to play it," he added. "Ideally, hopefully I'll keep playing well and get in the top 50 in the world, and then I won't have to worry about coming in and qualifying."

He has never won the Open Championship, with two runner-up finishes in 2007 and 2014. Now it'll be the third time in four years Garcia has missed his chance to qualify for the last Major tournament of the season.

Sergio Garcia was not the only big name left outside Royal Birkdale

Danny Willett, the 2016 Masters champion, shot rounds of 71 and 69 yet still missed the playoff by four shots. Matt Wallace withdrew during his second round with a back problem, saving himself for a flight to the John Deere Classic.

Wesley Bryan missed a seven‑foot par putt on his final hole, which cost him a spot in the playoff.

The player who earned the last qualifying ticket at West Lancs, Matthew Jordan, later revealed he had also survived what he believed to be food poisoning.

The five players who survived the 36‑hole competition were Sam Bairstow (the leader at 10 under), Kazuma Kobori, Tiger Christensen, Jose Luis Ballester and Jordan.

But it was a sad ending for Garcia.

"It’s a shame. It’s tough. When you’re this age, and you’re playing 36 holes, you feel like you need to eat a little bit between the rounds, and you do that, and it doesn’t sit well with you, and you’re struggling with your stomach pretty much the whole second round, it’s tough," Garcia said.

"You come all the way here to give it your best shot and not feeling 100% there, it hurts a lot.”

Do you think Sergio Garcia will bounce back? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Md Saife Fida

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore