Garcia gunning for title repeat

Sergio Garcia this week has the best chance of his career to do something he has never done before – make a successful defence of a title.

Garcia, a winner six times in Europe and in America, is the only player in the world’s top 25 competing in the £1m (€1.47m) Mallorca Classic.

And it is being played on the same Pula course where he did not have anything worse than a 68 last year in winning by four.

“It’s not easy to play at the top level in the same tournament two years in a row, but I hope I can do well. I’m hitting the ball well,” said the 25-year-old, who needs to compete this week to achieve the minimum 11 events required for European Tour membership.

Even playing as little as he has on his home circuit – Order of Merit leader Colin Montgomerie has appeared in 15 more events – Garcia is 10th on the money list.

And with finishes of first and third in his last two tournaments, the European Masters and American Express World Championship, he is an overwhelming favourite for the first prize.

Garcia is also ninth on the US Tour standings with one win and six other top 10 finishes.

But considering he has still to win a major and is sixth in the world now compared to fourth at the end of 2002 he knows people expect more of him.

“I’d like to finish (the year) top five in the world ranking,” he added.

“It was a pity – I got closer to Retief Goosen, but every time I approached him it seems he escaped by winning a tournament.

“But I’m not too far. I have to keep going and be regular. You can’t win two tournaments and miss eight cuts. I have to keep it going and try harder.”

Goosen has now overtaken Ernie Els and gone fourth and with Els hoping to make his comeback soon from the knee surgery he underwent after a sailing accident in July, Garcia has the opportunity to move up at this week’s event and next week’s Volvo Masters at Valderrama.

Fellow Spaniards Jose Maria Olazabal and Miguel Angel Jimenez are also in the Mallorca field, as is Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam, who returned to form with a fifth-place finish in the Madrid Open on Sunday.

A long list of players are battling to keep their European Tour careers afloat, including Jarmo Sandelin, part of the Ryder Cup side in Boston just six years ago.

The Swede is 140th on the Order of Merit and needs a top four finish to climb into the top 116 who keep their cards and avoid a trip to the qualifying school next month.