Garcia sends Ryder Cup message in Hong Kong
Sergio Garcia hopes he caught the eye of European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald after he claimed an impressive victory in LIV Hong Kong.
The Spaniard (45) fired a bogey-free seven-under 63 to win the individual title by three shots on 18-under from Dean Burmester, who shot a best of the day 62.
Garcia hopes to add to his record haul of Ryder Cup points at Bethpage in September and if he doesn’t win one of six automatic places, he will need to impress Donald to earn of six wildcards.
“I think he's watching,” said Garcia, who also helped his Fireballs capture the team title for the second event running. “We've been in touch, so I know that he's keeping an eye.
“The only thing I can do is keep playing good golf, and I just want to help the European team like I've tried to do every single time I've been a member of that team, and hopefully he will think I'm good enough for it.”
Garcia will have another chance to impress Donald at LIV Singapore this week and in Miami next month before makes his 100th Major appearance in the Masters.
“Yeah, super excited about it,” Garcia said of Augusta. “It's a milestone that not a lot of people get to achieve, so I'm super proud, super happy, and I can't wait to go there and just enjoy it
“Whatever happens happens, but I'm just going to try to enjoy the week as much as possible, and then hopefully my game will show up.”
Another man looking forward to the season’s first Major is three time Masters champion Phil Mickelson (54), who claimed his first podium finish since joining LIV when he carded a 64 to finish third on 14 under.
Tom McKibbin shot 66 to finish in a four-way tie for sixth, seven shots behind Garcia, on 11-under and win $566,875 while Graeme McDowell tied for 12th on nine-under after a 68.
In the Joburg Open, it was a memorable final day for Scotland’s Calum Hill, who claimed his second DP World Tour win with a par on the second tie hole at Houghton Golf Club.
He began the final round eight strokes behind South Africa’s Shaun Norris and shot an eight-under 62 to set the target at 14 under.
He was joined on 266 by Norris, who birdied the last to shoot 70, and Jacques Kruyswijk, who signed for a 66.
All three parred the 18th the first time around before Norris hit his second from a fairway bunker into the water on his way to a double bogey and Kruyswijk bogeyed the hole as the Scot made par to win.
“I’m a little bit taken aback at the moment,” Hill said. “I was quite far back at the start of the final round, and then played a great round of golf where a lot of putts went in.
{I’m a bit shocked, but delighted to come out with the trophy.”
In the Blue Bay LPGA on Hainan Island in China, Leona Maguire closed with a one-under 71 to tie for 33rd on two-over.
She finished 19 shots behind Japan’s Rio Takeda who shot an eight-under 64 to win by six shots from Australia’s Minjee Lee.
