Garcia in the groove

Sergio Garcia showed more good signs of a return to his best with an opening 66 on day one of the Volvo China Open.

The former world number two was bogey-free on a day of low scoring at the Luxehills International Country Club in Chengdu and a sixth birdie of the day at the final hole helped Garcia finish just two shots behind 19-year-old South Korean rookie Chang-won Han, who set the pace with a blistering 64.

Garcia, now ranked 73, has finished 30th, 9th and 20th in his three European Tour starts this season while, in the US, he was an encouraging 15th and 8th in his two tournaments on the Florida Swing before a tied 35th in The Masters.

Boosted by Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey victory over Barcelona the previous evening, Garcia’s pre-tournament comment that his game was “coming along nicely” looked spot on as he carded 33s on both nines to complete an excellent day’s work.

There wasn’t such good news though for Padraig Harrington – the other star name taking part this week.

The three-time major winner struggled with his swing in a round of one-under 71 and failed to compensate with his putter.

But there was a strong GB & Ireland challenge elsewhere.

England’s James Morrison, Welshman Bradley Dredge and Northern Ireland’s Gareth Maybin all fired impressive 65s to finish tied second, just one back.

Also on seven-under are Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen and Keith Horne of South Africa, who will have to play his remaining four holes early on Friday after bad light suspended the round one action which had started an hour late due to early morning mist.

Blistering

Leader Han – who began from the 10th – started in blistering fashion, taking 30 shots on his front nine thanks to a run of four successive birdies.

The former Asian Amateur Champion – who confirmed his potential by winning the OneAsia Tour’s Qualifying School – picked up a further two shots on the front nine.

“I’ve not made much money yet as a professional so it would be nice to get some this week!”
Chang-won Han Quotes of the week

“It’s very good weather and I got a bit lucky today,” said Han, for whom this is a first campaign in the professional ranks. “I missed a few easy shots but most of the time I was perfect and hit the fairways and got close to the pins.

“I felt comfortable going into those last four holes which I birdied. I didn’t really feel any pressure and it was a good finish.

“Luxehills is a good course and I really like it. The greens and fairways are in good condition and we have good weather. When I played in The Masters in America the conditions were like this.

“I’ve been playing golf for nine years. I’ve only been professional from this year. I play for the national team. I’ve not made much money yet as a professional so it would be nice to get some this week!

“I look up to both K J Choi and Y E Yang. I always think about them and would like to win like them.”

Yang is in the field this week and also started brightly with a four-under 68.

Comeback

One better than that was New Zealander Michael Campbell who, like Garcia, in on the comeback trail.

The former US Open Champion made only four cuts in two years after a string of injury woes.

But he reached the weekend for the first time in 2011 at the Sicilian Open a month ago and has since finished 19th in Morocco and 35th in Malaysia.

And Campbell revealed his renaissance has been in no small part down to an Olympic rowing legend.

“Every week seems to be getting better for me,” said Campbell. “I didn’t finish it off last week in Malaysia but today I played great from tee to green and putted better.

“I missed a few short ones coming in but beside that it was a real solid first round. It’s a snowball effect. I’m growing in confidence with each shot, each putt, each chip. You ask any athlete – confidence is not something you can buy from the corner store. You have to earn it.

“Definitely over the last three or four weeks it’s been that way. I’ve turned the corner now. I’m over that hump. It was a huge hump but I knew that if I worked hard and preserved I’d get there.

“It’s just getting advice from people who have been there. Sir Steve Redgrave and I had a chat about six months ago sharing a car together at the Dunhill Links last year.

“We went from Carnoustie to St Andrews which is about 45minutes so it was very inspiring 45minutes talking to Steve. He’s great and very supportive.

“I’ve known Steve for a long time maybe six years. I always wanted to talk to Steve about it. He had to wait every four years to win his golds so patience was his biggest issue.

“The thing I took from his conversation was once you’ve tasted, once you’ve been there you can do it again. There’s no reason why you can’t.

“He said ‘Michael you’ve just got to work harder’. For me winning the US Open was like climbing Everest. His response was next time you try to do it do it with no oxygen. I thought about it and thought that’s probably a good response. So I’m working hard on my fitness and mental game. There’s a huge shift for me right now towards playing better golf.”