Sergio Garcia excited for new season and Hong Kong Open debut
Tuesday 21 November 2017 15:29, UK
Sergio Garcia is hoping to end his “crazy” 2017 on a high as the Masters champion kicks off his new season at the UBS Hong Kong Open.
The Spaniard claimed his major maiden title at Augusta - one of three worldwide victories this year - to help him finish third on the Race to Dubai.
Garcia went into the season-ending DP World Tour Championship still with a chance of finishing the year as European No 1, with a final-round 65 seeing him fall two strokes short of tournament champion Jon Rahm.
Off the course, Garcia got married and is set to become a father early next year, with the world No 11 looking to continue his positive stretch when he makes his tournament debut at Hong Kong GC.
"There's always things that you want to achieve and I think that 2017 has been a crazy year on and off the golf course, which is great," he said. "
"Getting married and then obviously having a baby coming and with the three victories and winning the Masters, but you start a new year and you kind of reset. You want to keep improving.
"You don't want to get comfortable with what you've done. You want to make sure that you keep moving forward and keep putting yourself in position to win more tournaments and all those things.
"We have to get on it again. We have two tournaments left this actual year and hopefully we can finish and start the year in the same way that we did last season."
Garcia tees off alongside Justin Rose and Haotong Li for the first two rounds in Fanling, where fellow Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez features in his pursuit of a fifth Hong Kong title.
"The Hong Kong Golf Club is a place where I have enjoyed great success, and I love everything about the tournament," Jimenez said.
"It's a great golf course where you have to control the ball very well, it's not a matter of distance, and that makes for an enjoyable week."
Watch the UBS Hong Kong Open throughout the week live on Sky Sports Golf. Live coverage begins on Thursday from 6am.