Garcia gunning to make Shanghai cut

FRESH from his remarkable 11 strokes victory in front of his home fans in Castellon on Sunday, Sergio Garcia has moved down the coast in western Spain to Valderrama where the €3m Andalucia Masters gets underway tomorrow.

Garcia’s 27 under par total in the Castello Masters has been bettered only once on the European Tour and it is hardly surprising he has been installed the 13/2 favourite to land the first prize of €500,000 on Sunday. A win is absolutely crucial for the 31-year-old Spaniard given nothing else will get him into the field for the US$7m WGC-HSBC Championship in Shanghai next week.

Garcia readily acknowledges he again needs to be on top of his game, considering defending champion Graeme McDowell is in the field, along with in-form Swede Peter Hanson and Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn, a man with fair claims on the European Tour’s player of the year title after his three wins so far this season.