Sergio Garcia’s determination to compete in a seventh Ryder Cup has inspired a best-ever qualifying start boosted by victory in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
Garcia shot a final-round 65 and then holed a tap-in birdie putt at the third extra play-off hole, defeating Finland’s Mikko Ilonen to claim an 11th European Tour victory and a 25th worldwide.
More importantly, it was just in his second start of the season and his second win in three tournaments.
Garcia has closed his 2013 campaign winning last month’s Thailand Golf Championship on the Asian Tour. The Spaniard has already made it clear that as much as he’d love to be a part of Paul McGinley’s team in Gleneagles in September, he will not increase his playing schedule simply to get enough points.
Garcia arrived in Doha lying second behind Henrik Stenson on the Ryder Cup ‘World Points’ List, and while he wasn’t able to go past the Swede, he has further cemented his place in the European Team.
This year, the top five players from the World Points List qualify for the biennial event. A delighted Garcia said: “I’m sure Paul will be pleased that a lot of the players who competed in Medinah are playing well but we also have to remember there is still about eight months to go before qualifying ends.
“But the more I know I’m in the team, the more I won’t have to think about it later on when we get to the near the end of qualifying.”
Garcia’s played in six Ryder Cups since making his debut in 1999 and has been on the winning team four times. He is well know for the passion he brings to the team. And he has kick-started the real likelihood of a seventh with twowins, a second in last month’s Nedbank Challenge, fourth in both the PGA Tour’s Deutsche Bank Championship and WGC-HSBC Champions and a ninth in the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
“My big goal is to get my place on the European Team locked in as quickly as I can, so I don’t have to think too much about it when we are late into the summer,” he said. “But this win is another good stepping stone to me playing at Gleneagles.
“Also it’s great to get a win so early in the season and it just reaffirms all the things you are working on are the right things.
“I’ve only had one win early in a season in my career and that was the Mercedes Championship in Hawaii (in 2002), so on top of winning my last event of last year and to win now in my second event of 2014 gives me a lot confidence wise.”
Garcia said one of the factors helping him do better on the golf course was his life off it. “When things off the golf course are in good terms, it is a little bit easier to concentrate on what you want to do on it because you don’t have so many things in your head,” said Garcia.
“So I’m very fortunate with that and with Katharina (Boehm, his girlfriend) and with my whole family and the beautiful group I have around me.
“So yeah, it’s great to be playing well, it’s great to be in this situation, and you know, the goal now is to keep going and to keep improving.”
