Sergio Garcia smiles as he waves to the crowd after his victory in the 2018 Singapore Open. (ROSLAN RAHMAN)
By Ryan Herrington
The field at Asian Tour’s SMBC Singapore Open wasn’t quite the one Sergio Garcia would have faced if he was playing Abu Dhabi, but a win is a win, and it’s exactly what the 38-year-old Spaniard wanted out of his first start in 2018.
Garcia played a bogey-free 27 holes on Sunday, shooting four under on the back nine to close out a third-round 66, then posting a closing three-under 68 in his final round. In the process, he extended a one-stroke lead to five strokes over Japan’s Satoshi Kodaira and South Africa’s Shaun Morris.
The Masters champion was particularly proud of the way he handled the starts and stops caused by stormy weather that hampered the event at Sentosa Golf Club.
“It may have looked easy, but it wasn’t easy. You still have to hit a lot of good shots out there,” Garcia said. “It’s always great to start with a win, to do it here at this golf course against a good field in Asia on conditions that weren’t easy. Hopefully, I can ride on this momentum.”
For the week, Garcia made just three bogeys as he carded his 33rd professional title and his sixth on the Asian Tour. He hopes to grab No. 34 next week as he heads to the European Tour’ Omega Dubai Desert Classic, where he is the defending champion. It was the first of the now four titles Garcia has won worldwide since the start of 2017.
