Garcia hopes for another big year after Masters win

Sergio Garcia said Wednesday he hoped for another big year after his Masters win as he prepared to tee off his 2018 campaign, adding the impending arrival of a baby girl will make it even more exciting.

Garcia, who begins his season at the Singapore Open this week, said he looked forward to winning more tournaments as he builds on his first Major championship in Augusta last April and his 2017 European Tour Golfer of the Year award.

But 2018 promises to be as big a year personally as it does professionally for Garcia -- the Spaniard wed his girlfriend, Texan Angela Akins, last July and they announced a few months later they were expecting their first child.

"There's no small years nowadays. You always have four majors every year, they're all special no matter how you would have played," he told reporters on the eve of the SMBC Singapore Open.

"It's a Ryder Cup year and it's always exciting, it's gonna be great. Also, we have a baby girl coming in a couple of months so it just adds up to making it even more exciting so we're looking forward to it."

Garcia, who turned 38 last week, said he would try to win in Singapore to kick off the year with a good start but if not he hopes to use it as a warm up after a two-month break.

"Winning is nice, it doesn't matter which time of the year. Obviously, the earlier you do it the more confidence you get," he said.

"If we can manage to win here it will be amazing, but even if we don't we can still hopefully take a lot of positives out of it.

He was also upbeat about the prospect for Asian golf, saying that the region's players -- traditionally outshone by their European and American counterparts -- were improving.

"I think that Asian golf is getting stronger and stronger every year that goes by, not only with Japanese players but Korean players and Chinese players and Thai players," he said.

"There's Asian players coming out left and right."

The $1.0 million Singapore Open, held from Thursday to Sunday at the Sentosa Golf Club, is the season opener for the Asian Tour this year.

Other players taking part include defending champion Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand and Japan's Ryo Ishikawa

Source: AFP