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ABU DHABI HSBC GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPJanuary 24, 2012Sergio GarciaABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES SCOTT CROCKETT:ﾃつ Sergio, welcome to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.ﾃつ Welcome, as always.ﾃつ Good to see you.ﾃつ Give us your thoughts on heading into a new season, obviously last year was a good end to the year, but give us your thoughts on heading into this 2012. SERGIO GARCﾃδ喉:ﾃつ Yes, it was definitely a very positive year last year, after two tough years.ﾃつ But no, I'm looking forward to starting a new season.ﾃつ Obviously I hope to feel better than today.ﾃつ I'm quite tired after not much sleep last night. But other than that, it's good.ﾃつ Looking forward to it.ﾃつ The golf course looks nice.ﾃつ There have been some changes.ﾃつ I haven't played the last three years I think, but there have definitely been some changes and new bunkers, a couple new tees and a couple extension on greens and stuff like that. But other than that, everything's good and hopefully I can get on a good start, hopefully some good momentum and kind of keep going on the way, keep riding the wave that I was on last. SCOTT CROCKETT:ﾃつ And the energy that you got from those back‑to‑back wins, and in Dubai where you played well, that was something to build on, wasn't it. SERGIO GARCﾃδ喉:ﾃつ Definitely, but not only that, but I think overall, it was very positive, like I said all year long.ﾃつ I played nicely throughout the whole season.ﾃつ I probably‑‑ you know, I probably just got a bit more fortunate towards the end and that's why I got two wins.ﾃつ Obviously played nice in Castellon and in Valderrama.ﾃつ You know, I had some really nice showings throughout the season, so I guess there were build‑ups for those two weeks. Q.ﾃつ We had Josﾃδｩ Maria in just before you.ﾃつ Just wonder, you've got quite a few Ryder Cup points towards the end of last year, wonder how high that is on your list of priorities are and what the other big goals are for 2012? SERGIO GARCﾃδ喉:ﾃつ Yes, as you all know, Ryder Cup is a big part of my year.ﾃつ You all know how important The Ryder Cup is for me. So that's one of the goals to make the team.ﾃつ It would be great to be back into The European Team.ﾃつ And then, just kind of, like I said, after last year just keep going the same direction and keep feeling good about the game.ﾃつ Keep enjoying it, keep working on it, and hopefully I can play nicely throughout the season and you know hopefully have some wins. Just kind of keep building on that good momentum. Q.ﾃつ Josﾃδｩ Maria said that the final selection of the team will be delayed this year until the day after The Barclays to make sure that there won't be a repeat of last time.ﾃつ As someone who plays quite a lot of golf in America, how useful is that?ﾃつ Is that a good decision; helpful? SERGIO GARCﾃδ喉:ﾃつ Yes, I think if you are playing a bit on the U.S. Tour like I do, like Luke does and some of the players, I think Rory is going to play a little bit more in the U.S. this year, too.ﾃつ So for all of those kind of players, it obviously helps.ﾃつ So that is a nice decision for us. You know, now it's up to us to play well and make sure that we get into that team. Q.ﾃつ Just wondering, how acting as a vice captain last time helped you as a player this time; is there any special insight you might have gained at Celtic Manor that you can take to the playing side? SERGIO GARCﾃδ喉:ﾃつ Not really, no.ﾃつ I mean, I've been fortunate enough to play five times.ﾃつ So I have pretty much gone through every emotion that you can go in The Ryder Cup.ﾃつ So being a vice captain was a good experience, but like I said, it was very tough, because you can't do anything. Q.ﾃつ I know you've developed an interest in cricket over the years.ﾃつ You know there's a test match just down the road, will you try and catch any of that at all? SERGIO GARCﾃδ喉:ﾃつ You know, I‑‑ (smiling).ﾃつ I'm not going to lie to you.ﾃつ I would rather play it than watch it. I watched it once or twice on TV here and there, but not really, you know, like a big match.ﾃつ Maybe a one‑day one or something like, that something quick.ﾃつ But I do enjoy it here and there. As you all know, my caddie is South African, so he's really into his cricket.ﾃつ But unfortunately I haven't really played much for the past probably three or four years.ﾃつ Cricket is not huge in Spain, unfortunately. Q.ﾃつ You said that you wanted to enjoy yourself on the golf course and away from it.ﾃつ And about three years back, you really had a blast going out in the desert; are you planning anything outside the golf course? SERGIO GARCﾃδ喉:ﾃつ Actually, we had a nice session to go to the Yas Marina racetrack this afternoon, but I'm going to postpone that because I'm just too tired.ﾃつ I really won't enjoy it and I don't want to be tired when I'm driving through that track.ﾃつ It's something that I want to be, you know, with my best energy and make sure that I really enjoy that. So hopefully we'll be able to do it later in the week.ﾃつ But other than that, it's difficult to arrange things, because you kind of run out of time between practising, playing and going to the gym here and there and resting.ﾃつ The days go by pretty quickly. Q.ﾃつ Just wondered, what difference, if any, does it make having Tiger in the field?ﾃつ And even though he's obviously no longer ranked where he was, does he still class as a player to be wary of and to watch out for? SERGIO GARCﾃδ喉:ﾃつ Well, he's another player that brings things to the tournament.ﾃつ So it's nice about that, yeah. Q.ﾃつ But the name, Tiger Woods, kind of reverberates around? SERGIO GARCﾃδ喉:ﾃつ To me it doesn't bring anything, obviously to the people to come watch it, he does.ﾃつ But if he wasn't here, I would still‑‑ it wouldn't change my schedule. Q.ﾃつ You played lots of tournaments around the world.ﾃつ What is the distinctive thing about the events here in this part of the world? SERGIO GARCﾃδ喉:ﾃつ Well, I think that they have managed to do, obviously, a few things very right, which to start with, the courses are usually in good shape.ﾃつ They are usually good challenges for us to start the year.ﾃつ It's usually nice weather which is tough to get in most parts of Europe at this time of the year. And also, they manage to get great fields.ﾃつ When you have a tournament with the calibre of players that you can get here and in Qatar and Dubai and stuff like that, it obviously is an asset; it's something that really helps you kind of make a decision.ﾃつ It's not the only thing; obviously it has to be places where you enjoy and where you feel comfortable, in my case.ﾃつ But all of those things mix together. Q.ﾃつ Do they make up for a slightly ordinary or relatively ordinary purses? SERGIO GARCﾃδ喉:ﾃつ You mean? Q.ﾃつ Prize money. SERGIO GARCﾃδ喉:ﾃつ I think you're asking the wrong man.ﾃつ You know, I don't even know what the prize money is this week.ﾃつ So, I mean‑‑ Q.ﾃつ Is that the case in most weeks, you don't know what the prize money is? SERGIO GARCﾃδ喉:ﾃつ Most weeks I don't, yeah.ﾃつ I go because it's a good tournament, because the field is good, and I enjoy the place and the course.ﾃつ You know, that's good enough for me. SCOTT CROCKETT:ﾃつ Sergio, thanks, as always.ﾃつ Go and rest.ﾃつ Good luck tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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