UPDATE: As it turns out, Sergio Garcia withdrew from a British Open qualifying round, not a U.S. Open qualifying round, Barry Svrluga reports. Garcia, at this moment, is still enrolled in a June 6 sectional qualifying tournament for the U.S. Open, but could also withdraw from that. Nevertheless, he has not yet been ruled out of the U.S. Open. The original entry follows.
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Sergio Garcia, arguably one of the most accomplished golfers on the PGA Tour to never win a major championship, will not be getting his first at the 2011 U.S. Open. Garcia has withdrawn from a qualifying match due to an infected fingernail, reports Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post:
Among those not in the Open: @TheSergioGarcia, who announced this morning he withdrew from a qualifier with an infected fingernail.
It will be the first major championship without Garcia in the field since he burst on the scene to challenge Tiger Woods at the 1999 PGA Championship. Garcia has nine top-five finishes in the four major championships, but has yet to break through and win one.
Garcia has been on a major downswing since a banner year in 2008. He dropped all the way down to 74th on the PGA Tour money list in 2009, and was equally awful in 2010, eventually skipping the Ryder Cup to take a break. He has not won a tournament since the 2008 Players Championship. He is currently ranked 73rd in the world, which is why he needed to go through qualifying to even be eligible to play in the U.S. Open.