Garcia and Fernandez-Castaño look to end Spain drought
World Number Eight Sergio Garcia is looking to end a testing 2009 on a high by partnering Gonzalo Fernandez-Casta±o to Omega Mission Hills World Cup success.
The pair hope to go one better than the runner-up finish achieved by Miguel Angel Jim©nez and Pablo Larrazabal last year, but it is now 25 years since Spain last tasted victory in this event.
€It has been a while,€ said Garcia. €We had some good chances of winning it. I remember 2004 with Miguel Angel and myself, and a couple other chances we've had, too.
€It's just a matter of being able to go out there and roll some putts in, put some good scores in there. Foursomes are always important to make sure that you do fairly well there.
Garcia has not won in 2009 but insists a victory at Mission Hills on a course designed by another Spaniard, Jos© Maria Olazbal, would leave him pleased with the last 12 months.
€It's been a hard year, but at the same time, I think it's been positive,€ he added. €I think it's made me grow a lot, not only as a player, but as a person. Looking at the results it has not been a good year. But I feel like my game in the past three and a half months has been improving and that's positive for next year.
€There are a lot of good teams out there this week. But we also have a good team, we should be proud of that. So if we manage to use our talent, talent we have, and the capabilities we have, I think that we should be contenders for the title.€
Fernandez-Castano finished 17th on The Race to Dubai after recording four runner-up finishes, and like his compatriot he is looking to end 2009 on a winning note.
€We don't have any records playing professionally in the World Cup, but we've played a lot of amateur golf together and it's good to play with a friend,€ he said.
€So I think it's going to be fun. At least I'm really looking forward to it. I'm really glad that Sergio picked me to be here, and I think that we combine very well together.
€I really like the course. I think Ollie did a great job €" it's quite a hilly course, it's going to be tough for caddies, but I think we will be fine.€
Another team looking to improve on last year's showing is England, and both Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher know solid performances this week can further enhance their Ryder Cup pedigree.
Poulter and Fisher combined well 12 months ago to finish sixth over the undulating Olazbal Course with an improving week rounded off by an impressive final round foursomes.
And with both heading into the 28 team tournament, which comprises of four rounds of fourballs and alternate shot foursomes, on the back of recent wins, confidence and camaraderie is high with a victory certain to catch the attention of Ryder Cup Captain and former World Cup winner Colin Montgomerie.
€I don't think we got off to a great start last year, but we went from strength to strength and finished really strong. But we were both still disappointed not to finish inside the top three or even win,€ World Number 20 Fisher said.
€Now we are coming back both in good form. Ian just had a win, I've just had a win and we both have just had good seasons on The European Tour. We have got to go out and play aggressive golf in the fourballs, play steady golf in the foursomes. This week is all about having fun and having a go, and I'm sure we will do that.€
Fisher's timely win at the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain last month came just hours after 2004 Ryder Cup winner Poulter ended a three year drought in Singapore meaning both would currently automatically qualify for The Celtic Manor Resort.
€Hopefully I can play myself into The Ryder Cup team, but all I can do is take one tournament at a time and hopefully that will be good enough,€ added 2009 Vivendi Trophy winner Fisher, who is chasing a maiden Ryder Cup appearance.
€I will think about the Ryder Cup more next year when it is a Ryder Cup year, but this is obviously a good stepping stone. If me and Ian can play well in the fourballs and foursomes and have a good week, maybe Colin will be looking at it. I've also won the Match Play which is also a massive boost for me.€
Sweden's Henrik Stenson, the highest ranked player in the field at World Number Seven, and Robert Karlsson return to defend the title they won in impressive style last year, with Ireland boasting the equally impressive combination of Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell.
€It's a stronger field this year for sure,€ said Players Championship winner Stenson. €It feels like you could find the winner in ten, 12, 14 teams.€
Karlsson made a welcome return to form last week following four months out with an eye injury with a runner-up finish behind European Challenge Tour number one Edoardo Molinari €" who also tees up this week for Italy alongside brother Francesco €" at the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament following a play-off on Sunday.
€It's a stronger field this year than ever before,€ he said. You've got to be quite aggressive and positive. This course is set up to make a lot of birdies.€
The pair hope to go one better than the runner-up finish achieved by Miguel Angel Jim©nez and Pablo Larrazabal last year, but it is now 25 years since Spain last tasted victory in this event.
€It has been a while,€ said Garcia. €We had some good chances of winning it. I remember 2004 with Miguel Angel and myself, and a couple other chances we've had, too.
€It's just a matter of being able to go out there and roll some putts in, put some good scores in there. Foursomes are always important to make sure that you do fairly well there.
Garcia has not won in 2009 but insists a victory at Mission Hills on a course designed by another Spaniard, Jos© Maria Olazbal, would leave him pleased with the last 12 months.
€It's been a hard year, but at the same time, I think it's been positive,€ he added. €I think it's made me grow a lot, not only as a player, but as a person. Looking at the results it has not been a good year. But I feel like my game in the past three and a half months has been improving and that's positive for next year.
€There are a lot of good teams out there this week. But we also have a good team, we should be proud of that. So if we manage to use our talent, talent we have, and the capabilities we have, I think that we should be contenders for the title.€
Fernandez-Castano finished 17th on The Race to Dubai after recording four runner-up finishes, and like his compatriot he is looking to end 2009 on a winning note.
€We don't have any records playing professionally in the World Cup, but we've played a lot of amateur golf together and it's good to play with a friend,€ he said.
€So I think it's going to be fun. At least I'm really looking forward to it. I'm really glad that Sergio picked me to be here, and I think that we combine very well together.
€I really like the course. I think Ollie did a great job €" it's quite a hilly course, it's going to be tough for caddies, but I think we will be fine.€
Another team looking to improve on last year's showing is England, and both Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher know solid performances this week can further enhance their Ryder Cup pedigree.
Poulter and Fisher combined well 12 months ago to finish sixth over the undulating Olazbal Course with an improving week rounded off by an impressive final round foursomes.
And with both heading into the 28 team tournament, which comprises of four rounds of fourballs and alternate shot foursomes, on the back of recent wins, confidence and camaraderie is high with a victory certain to catch the attention of Ryder Cup Captain and former World Cup winner Colin Montgomerie.
€I don't think we got off to a great start last year, but we went from strength to strength and finished really strong. But we were both still disappointed not to finish inside the top three or even win,€ World Number 20 Fisher said.
€Now we are coming back both in good form. Ian just had a win, I've just had a win and we both have just had good seasons on The European Tour. We have got to go out and play aggressive golf in the fourballs, play steady golf in the foursomes. This week is all about having fun and having a go, and I'm sure we will do that.€
Fisher's timely win at the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain last month came just hours after 2004 Ryder Cup winner Poulter ended a three year drought in Singapore meaning both would currently automatically qualify for The Celtic Manor Resort.
€Hopefully I can play myself into The Ryder Cup team, but all I can do is take one tournament at a time and hopefully that will be good enough,€ added 2009 Vivendi Trophy winner Fisher, who is chasing a maiden Ryder Cup appearance.
€I will think about the Ryder Cup more next year when it is a Ryder Cup year, but this is obviously a good stepping stone. If me and Ian can play well in the fourballs and foursomes and have a good week, maybe Colin will be looking at it. I've also won the Match Play which is also a massive boost for me.€
Sweden's Henrik Stenson, the highest ranked player in the field at World Number Seven, and Robert Karlsson return to defend the title they won in impressive style last year, with Ireland boasting the equally impressive combination of Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell.
€It's a stronger field this year for sure,€ said Players Championship winner Stenson. €It feels like you could find the winner in ten, 12, 14 teams.€
Karlsson made a welcome return to form last week following four months out with an eye injury with a runner-up finish behind European Challenge Tour number one Edoardo Molinari €" who also tees up this week for Italy alongside brother Francesco €" at the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament following a play-off on Sunday.
€It's a stronger field this year than ever before,€ he said. You've got to be quite aggressive and positive. This course is set up to make a lot of birdies.€