Qatar Masters: Sergio Garcia hopes for successful title defence
Tuesday 20 January 2015 18:23, UK
Sergio Garcia is looking forward to teeing off his 2015 season with the defence of his Qatar Masters title this week.
The Spaniard has an affinity for the Doha Golf Club that hosts the event, having recorded top-10 finishes in his last four visits, going one better than his 2013 runner-up effort with play-off victory over Mikko Ilonen last year.
Garcia is a combined 46-under for his last 16 rounds on the course but is looking to become the first player to defend his title in Qatar since its inception in 1998, when Scotland's Andrew Coltart was the inaugural champion.
Excited
"I have been quite fortunate to do well here for most of the years I've played," Garcia said. "I came close to winning a few times, so it was nice to get over the line last year.
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"Two years ago I was close to winning, one shot back, and last year it finally happened so I'm excited to continue the trend.
"I want to play as well as I can and put up a good defence of my title. I've started my season in Qatar for the last few years, and I always enjoy coming back.
"I have some good memories and hopefully they can inspire me to have another successful week.
"I try to do the best I can every single week I play. I try to improve every year and be consistent and my goal is to keep going in the same direction from last year."
Good group
Another player with a good record in the Middle East, Henrik Stenson, but he is looking to bounce back from a sub-standard start to the season after missing the cut in Abu Dhabi.
Stenson is tied with Ernie Els for the most European Tour titles in the region, having won four times, and he is partnered with the South African and Garcia for the first two rounds.
"It has been a good hunting ground - I guess I've figured out a decent way to play the course, and I've done some good scores over the years in windy conditions, as well," Stenson said.
"I've got a strong pairing with Ernie, second week now playing with Ernie, and Sergio is back in action, so we'll have good fun out there. It's a good group, so looking forward to it.
"It's just a good way for me to start off the season and I enjoy playing these weeks."
Watch the first round of the Qatar Masters live on Sky Sports 4 on Wednesday morning, with sessions starting at 6:30am and 11:00am.
