Sergio Garcia would love to be a part of the Ryder Cup in Gleneagles later this year, and the popular Spaniard clearly has his own ideas on how to make it into Paul McGinley’s European team.
Garcia, who had a consistent 2013, had several good finishes, but managed to win only one tournament – the Thai Golf Championship, his last event of the year. Considered a Ryder Cup specialist and someone who competes against Team America with unbridled passion, Garcia could not qualify for the team when the biennial event was last played in Europe.
At Celtic Manor in 2010, he was inducted as a vice-captain, after publically admitting he had lost his love for the game.
“It was tough. We all know how much we care about the Ryder Cup and especially me, but at that time, it was the right thing. I guess that I needed to see things from a different perspective to realise what was going on,” said Garcia, who finished the season ranked 10th in the world.
“You know, I’m excited. I’m excited to play well. I’m excited to make that Ryder Cup Team for Scotland, and you know, it’s in my plans, so hopefully, we’ll be there.”
Garcia was one of the stars who decided not to take part in the DP World Tour Championship last year, having expressed his displeasure with European Tour’s rules regarding the Final Series and conditions in participating in Dubai. That cost him valuable points in the race to qualify for the Ryder Cup, although he doesn’t see it that way.
Garcia explained: “No. I wouldn’t say so. I think that fortunately, I made that up in South Africa (where he finished tied second in Nedbank Challenge), and then Thailand.
“I think that with the schedule that I have, if I play the way I’ve been playing, I should be fine. I can see myself playing into that team. If I don’t play well, then obviously, I’m going to struggle no matter if I play 15 events or 25.
I like to be as fresh as possible when I get to the Ryder Cup, because we all know how much that week takes and you know how high the highs are and how down the lows are. So, you know, hopefully I won’t need to change anything.”
Garcia will hope to make a successful start to the season by in this week’s Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, where he has a decent record of not finishing outside the top-15 in his previous five starts.
“I’m excited to start the year here this new season, and then hopefully we can keep on the same track and do nicely. I think that last season was a very consistent, solid season for me. We probably had at least three or four really good chances of winning other than Thailand.
So yeah, it was nice to do, and you know, I’m excited to keep going in the same direction.”
Garcia also revealed girlfriend Katharina Boehm, who caddied for him at the Thai Golf Championship, will not be on his bag this week.
“Well, I wanted to keep going, but she fired me!” quipped Garcia.
“No, it was something Katharina wanted to do since we started dating. She told me she wanted to caddie for me in a tournament and I thought that would be a good week, being the end of the year and maybe a little bit more relaxed and stuff.
I think it turned out pretty good.” of years have been huge for me in terms of gaining experience and finding my feet as a professional. “My life and my game have changed so much since I last played in Abu Dhabi, and I can’t wait to put everything I have learnt to the test this week.
It would mean the world for me to make the cut. “I’ll be up against some of the world’s leading players, which despite having faced some of them in 2010 and 2012, is still pretty surreal and the pressure never really subsides.
This year, I am more prepared than ever and am feeling confident about my chances.
The most important thing for me is to relax and just enjoy it. That’s when I play at my best.”
Al Musharrekh will also feature prominently in the HSBC World of Sport having been named as a local HSBC Sporting Ambassador.
