Garcia excited to lead next wave of Spanish talent

As the 2026 LIV Golf season approaches, Sergio Garcia is no longer just the captain of Fireballs GC; he is leading the next wave of Spanish talent in professional golf.  

With the ink now dried on his multi-year contract extension and the full-time signing of Luis Masaveu, the Fireballs have officially realized their vision as a unified national powerhouse. While other teams such as the all-Australian Ripper GC and the all-South African Stinger GC have long leaned into their national roots, the Fireballs have now secured their place as the league’s first all-Spanish team. The new version of the Fireballs are comprised of a unique blend of Garcia's veteran stability and three young Spaniards eager to prove themselves on LIV Golf.

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Reflecting on his journey as one of the league’s founding captains, Garcia said, "Yeah, it’s been great. I’ve been on LIV for about four years now, and it's been great to see how everything has developed — how everything has gotten bigger, better, and stronger. Not only the league side, but the team side. Personally, it’s been a great experience and I'm looking forward to more years of it."

That experience is now being funneled into a roster that doubles as a high-performance Spanish golf academy. By surrounding himself with Josele Ballester (22), Luis Masaveu (23) and David Puig (24), Garcia – who turns 46 on Jan. 9 – has constructed the league’s only team with three players under 24 years old.  

Although they’re young, the youthful Fireball trio is not just a collection of prospects. Puig has already established himself as a proven winner, boasting professional wins in each of his last three calendar years, including the BMW Australian PGA Championship in December. Ballester, the 2024 U.S. Amateur Champion, won the PIF Saudi International presented by Softbank Investment Advisers last month in a loaded field.  

"When it comes down to my team, my goal has always been, if possible, to have four Spanish players on it," Garcia explained. "Three of them, obviously, trying to be young and up-and-comers. Obviously, I’m not the young one, but to have three other Spanish players that are up-and-comers with great potential — young guys who can not only play now but for the future — and to be able to achieve that coming into the 2026 season is something very exciting." 

The timing of this youth movement is critical. Garcia, who has remained a steady force on LIV Golf by finishing in the top 10 of the individual standings in three of the last four years, will provide the blueprint for his protégés to follow. His new contract extension ensures that this mentorship dynamic remains as the backbone of the franchise through the end of the decade.

"Yes, I’m super-excited about re-signing with LIV and my team for the next four years," Garcia said. "I'm just looking forward to keep working hard, not only individually but as a team, and keep building on that and hopefully many, many more successful weeks." 

Ultimately, the completion of the Fireballs' Spanish identity is about more than just one of national pride. The goal is to win the Team Championship. The Fireballs are the only team to have won at least one regular season tournaments in each of the league’s first four seasons, and last year they reeled off three consecutive wins, but they’ve never finished better than sixth at the season-ending Team Championship. 

"I think that when it comes down to performance-wise, obviously we want to win championships," Garcia said. "We want to win the Team Championship sometime soon. We’ve done well in the past few years, but we could do much better when it comes down to the Team Championship. So, being able to win that and keep developing and building on our fan base is super important, and all those things help.”