Sergio Garcia clearly did not read the room before releasing his statement this week confirming that he intends to play on the DP World Tour again next year.

It is no surprise that Sergio Garcia is planning to be a full-time member on the European circuit in 2027 as many of his peers join him in leaving LIV Golf.

And in truth, it should have come as no shock that he produced a statement that completely missed the mark. Garcia made no mention of LIV Golf or the controversial incidents in his final events on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour before his 2022 defection.

Anyone who has not followed the game over the last five years would simply assume that Garcia has made the decision to leave one tour to return to where it all began for him in his twilight years at the highest level.

Of course, the truth is that Garcia is one of the many players walking away now that LIV’s future is so uncertain.

His statement will not have endeared him to members of the DP World Tour, particularly when you factor in what the 2018 Masters champion said about the PGA Tour.

Sergio Garcia eyeing a PGA Tour return will not endear him to DP World Tour members

Everyone can see that the DP World Tour is the best option available for the majority of players who are now walking away from LIV Golf.

Those who remained loyal to the European Tour would be forgiven for being upset at the prospect of now-former LIV players taking up spots in events that they previously had no interest in.

A simple apology would have surely gone a long way. No one can question the impact Garcia has had on European golf. He is the all-time leading points scorer in the Ryder Cup and one of the most charismatic players the game has had over the last three decades.

Instead, Garcia is seemingly keeping one eye on what may come further down the line.

“I’m also keeping my options open for a return to the PGA Tour,” he wrote.

Of course, plenty of players hold cards for both the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour at the same time. It is unfortunately the case for the European Tour that they spend much of the year playing second fiddle.

However, if Garcia really wanted to try and convince the world that a season playing full-time on the DP World Tour was always Plan A, he perhaps should not have made it sound like a potential stepping stone.

If Garcia hoped to win his critics over, his stance should have arguably been that he wanted to focus almost all of his attention on the DP World Tour for the remainder of his career in the hope of helping it re-establish itself as a powerhouse again.

It does not seem to be the wisest idea to discuss your potential exit strategy while attempting to claim that there is nowhere else you would rather be.