Sergio García: "I have a lot of illusions for this season".

This week the inaugural edition of the Volvo Golf Champions, a new event valid for the European Tour that visits the Kingdom of Bahrain for the first time, will take place at the Montgomerie Course of the Royal Golf Club of Bahrain. It will be played from Thursday 27 to Sunday 30 and has the participation of several Major winners and Ryder Cup players, in addition to eleven Spaniards …

In Bahrain, second stop of the four tournaments that host the Emirates and that make up the “Gulf Swing”, the presence of José Mari Olazábal, Padraig Harrington, Tod Hamilton, Paul Lawrie and Michael Campbell, players who hold majors in their record stands out, who will fight for the title together with Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Sergio García, Álvaro Quirós, Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, Nacho Garrido, Alejandro Cañizares, Pablo Larrazábal, Pablo Martín, Rafa Cabrera and José Manuel Lara.

The first champion of the Volvo Golf Champions, in addition to the trophy and prize money, will secure a place in the Volvo World Match Play Championship, which will be held for the second time from May 19 to 22 at the Finca Cortesín course in Casares, Malaga. This year the tournament has increased the number of players to 24 and will be played under a new and much more attractive format.

Also taking part in the Volvo Golf Champions, among the list of champions, will be Englishman Paul Casey, ninth in the world ranking; Sweden’s Robert Karlsson, winner of the 2010 Dubai World Champion; members of the victorious Ryder Cup team Ian Poulter, Peter Hanson, Francesco and Edoardo Molinari, led by their captain and course designer Colin Montgomerie; and Matteo Manassero, the youngest champion on the European Tour.

For Sergio Garcia it will be the debut of the 2011 season in which he has “a lot of illusions”. The player from Castellón was the first player to go to the Press Center today, where he attended the accredited media: “I am ready and eager to start playing. I hope I can enjoy myself on the field and have a good time, that’s the main objective, the rest will come by itself.

Today I played nine holes and I feel fit. I guess I will enter the competition as the week progresses and I hope to start well to gain confidence. We haven’t made any changes to my game for this year, we’ve just been working on improving a few things. If I can have fun and do what I know I’m capable of, we’re on the right track! I know I have to be patient and wait for things to work out, if not, keep working.

I decided to stop playing in August after the PGA because I wasn’t playing the way I wanted to and it was very frustrating. I needed to disconnect and now I can’t wait to start, I have a lot of illusions for this season.

We’ve all been through a rough patch, it’s normal. Suddenly you find yourself lost and you have to try to find your place again, to be yourself again. I needed to find myself and, from there, work and try to improve my game. You have to follow a process, which doesn’t mean it’s easy, but now I feel more eager and that’s positive. From all experiences there are consequences, and I have learned the lesson. Golf is an individual sport and, when you are competing, you are alone and you have no one to turn to, it is not like in soccer. Learning from your mistakes helps you become stronger and a better person.

The Ryder Cup was a nice experience, which I would not like to repeat because I prefer to play it! We knew that Olazábal would be appointed and I am sure he will be a great captain; he will bring a lot of things to the team, especially charisma and passion. The Ryder Cup is something very special that means a lot to him and Seve, together they formed the best pair.” Per Ericsson, president of Volvo Event Management, has expressed his satisfaction with the reception the tournament has received from the players: “We greatly appreciate the vote of confidence they have given us.

We have among us the outgoing and incoming Ryder Cup Captain heading a list of winners with more than 300 European Tour titles, including eight Majors, as well as 27 PGA Tour victories.

The Volvo Golf Champions that we have created together with our partners, Barhain Economic Development Board and IMG – whom I thank for their enthusiasm and the trust they have placed in us – will be the first tournament of 2012 and the idea is that this season’s champions will take part”. Shaikh Mohammed Bin Essa Al-Khalifa, CEO of Barhain Economic Development Board: “We believe that a tournament like the Volvo Golf Champions is the best tool to promote the Kingdom of Barhain. It is the wish of His Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Chairman of EDB, to boost the private sector as an engine for the growth of our country through further diversification of the economy, with the aim of raising the standard of living and creating more opportunities for the citizens of Barhain.”