Sergio Garcia excited about first Ryder Cup since winning Commercial Bank Qatar Masters

Sergio Garcia has said he is ready to help Europe win a third straight Ryder Cup as he takes on the USA for the seventh time in his career, but the first since winning this year’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. Garcia delighted local fans in January when he lifted the Mother of Pearl Trophy, winning a thrilling playoff against Mikko Ilonen on the third extra hole at Doha Golf Club.

Ranked World No. 10 before the January 2014 European Tour tournament, the Spaniard’s popular victory in the Qatari capital kick-started an impressive season and the 34-year-old has since risen to World No. 3 as he prepares to do battle for Paul McGinley’s Team Europe in Scotland.

“I am excited to be on the Ryder Cup team and we are all looking forward to teeing off this Friday,” said Garcia, who made his Ryder Cup debut as a 19-year-old in 1999, when he suffered the first of only two team losses in six appearances in the biennial event.

“Both teams are looking strong and people might think that on paper that the European team is stronger, but let me quote Bernhard Langer, my captain from 2004, who once said, ‘On paper we look stronger, but golf is not being played on paper – it’s played on grass’.”

Many of the world’s top golfers compete each year at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, which has been held at Doha Golf Club since its inauguration in 1998. The club’s desert-type Championship Course is one of the longest par-72 courses on The European Tour.

Garcia’s Ryder Cup teammate Henrik Stenson is a former champion in Doha (2006), while former World No. 1 Adam Scott (2002, 2008) and two-time Ryder Cup player Paul Lawrie (1999, 2012) are two-time winners. South African legends Ernie Els (2005) and Retief Goosen (2007) are also among the famous names on an impressive roll of honour