Garcia will play in Germany

World number nine Sergio Garcia has confirmed he will play at the £2.5m Deutsche Bank Players’ Championship in Germany later this month.

The Spaniard has played three events on the European Tour schedule this year; two of those were the Masters and US Open, and the other the Abu Dhabi Championship.

He makes his first appearance of the year on his home continent in the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond next week before immediately moving on to the Open at Hoylake and then heading off to Germany.

“It’s one of the best tournaments in Europe, and this year they expect a high-calibre field at Gut Kaden,” Garcia said of his decision to play in the Deutsche Bank.

“That’s exactly what tempts me to come – to assess my skills against some of the finest golfers in the world.”

Garcia, already a veteran of three Ryder Cups at the age of 26, is concentrating on the bigger tournaments in Europe in order to secure his place in Ian Woosnam’s team to face the USA at the K Club in September.

He is seventh on the world points list – only the top five get in – but would currently qualify via his ninth place on the European Ryder Cup rankings.

But with a huge amount of money available over the next six weeks Garcia, who bases himself in America, could really do with a couple of good finishes to make that position safe.

Fellow Ryder Cup stars Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, David Howell, the current European number one, Colin Montgomerie and Luke Donald are all in the Deutsche Bank field – along with world number four Retief Goosen, 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell and two-time major-winner John Daly.