Garcia happy to play host at Spanish Open in Valderrama

Tournament host Sergio Garcia is delighted to be back at Real Club Valderrama for this year's Open de Espana, Hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation.

The venue has been a happy hunting ground for world number 16 Garcia, who won the last European Tour event to be hosted there – the 2011 Andalucia Valderrama Masters – and names the course as his favourite in the world.

Garcia, who won this event in 2002, is excited to be hosting the Open de Espana for the first time.

He said: “It’s amazing, there’s nothing like it.

Great experience

“It’s really a great experience and I’m sure it will be a great tournament. When you come back to somewhere where you have done well, and feel comfortable and you know what you’re doing, it always helps so hopefully there will more of that this week.”

Garcia is one of several top players in a field that includes his Ryder Cup team-mates Martin Kaymer and Thomas Bjorn, in-form Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello and Soren Kjeldsen, who arrives at Real Club Valderrama fresh from finishing in a share of seventh at last week's Masters.

Two-time Major champion Kaymer had been due to head to the RBC Heritage in America this week, but changed his plans due to the lure of playing at Valderrama.

Kaymer said: “I was supposed to play Hilton Head the week after the Masters but then I heard that this tournament was coming to Valderrama, so I thought ‘I have to come here’. It is a very nice golf course.

Two Irish men are in the field – Peter Lawrie, as a past champion, and tour rookie Paul Dunne.