The former World No. 1 acknowledged the difficult decision but admitted he had hoped the former Masters champion would still be included as one of Luke Donald’s captain’s picks.
“My heart is always going to say yes, right,” Rahm told the Scotsman. “He’s a good friend of mine, he’s a Spanish player, and the moments we shared at Whistling Straits and Paris, personally I’m always going to want him around.”
Garcia, a veteran of numerous Ryder Cups and the all-time leading points scorer in the tournament’s history with 28.5 points, was not selected by Donald despite his impressive history in the event.
Rahm noted that while Garcia played exceptionally well early in the season, his form slipped as the year progressed.
“He did play good early on in the year, very, very good. He was playing incredible golf, maybe in some parts of the world that you weren’t watching,” Rahm said. “It seemed like from April on, he didn’t keep that level.
“So I don’t think he helped himself. I understand that while we are not earning points or the rankings, we need to make a really strong case to be picked,” Rahm added. “Had he kept that level he might have been on the team, but he didn’t play as good as he could have. Subjectively, I’m always going to root for him.”
