Sergio Garcia is making his 2018 PGA Tour debut this week at the Honda Classic, and the world's 11th-ranked golfer is excited to play PGA National.
"It's a big week, a tournament that I've always enjoyed playing, a great golf course, really, really a ball-striker's kind of golf course, which I've always enjoyed," Garcia told reporters.
"So, yeah, starting the season here a little bit later than usual, but you know, I'm really looking forward to it. Obviously we had a good start of the year in Singapore and Dubai with all the new equipment and Callaway and everything. I'm looking forward to it."
Garcia switched from TaylorMade to Callaway this winter and won the Asian Tour's SMBC Singapore Open. Equipment switches can take time, but Garcia said the change was almost seamless.
"Fortunate enough, it was very easy" he said. "It was very easy I think for a couple of reasons. One of them, I moved to a great company that makes great equipment, and second of all, usually I get used to new equipment quite easily, even in my old brand. I used to be one of the first ones to change the new equipment.
"So it hasn't been a stressful move or anything like that. I really love the golf ball. I think the golf ball, I think for me it's been a step forward from last — from the past years."
Garcia and his wife, Angela, are expected to introduce a baby daughter into the world next month. Garcia doesn't think it will affect his schedule too much, but said he may have to miss a tournament currently on his radar.
Best news ever for @TheAngelaAkins and me!! 👶🏻 Baby Garcia coming in March ‘18 just in time to wear this beauty for @TheMasters! pic.twitter.com/J8yECtl9Tv
— Sergio Garcia (@TheSergioGarcia) October 11, 2017
"Hopefully it won't change much because that means that everything will go right, and that's what you wish for," Garcia said. "But you know, the way I look at it, obviously a lot of people have been asking me, 'Oh, you know, are you going to take a month off, two months off after the little girl is born', and I said, 'Well, the problem of doing that is that then I have to make (up) those two months off later in the year' and I don't want to spend two months away from home later in the year, when Angela is also going to need me and the little girl, too.
"There is a possibility of maybe missing one of the tournaments that I have scheduled, but you know, that can be kind of made up. Like I said, you know, if everything goes well, fingers crossed, it shouldn't change too much."
Last year, Garcia earned his first major championship with a playoff win at The Masters over Justin Rose. Despite finally getting his major, Garcia never lost his desire as the season moved ahead.
"I was hungry or hungrier than I was before. It doesn't change," Garcia said. "That was one of the things that probably kind of probably affected — I wouldn't say affected me, but it put a little bit of a hold on, you know, after the Masters, from The Players till probably the middle of the playoffs, the FedEx Cup Playoffs. I wanted to do well so badly I didn't want to be like, now that we won the Masters, you relax and you start missing cuts and finishing 60th all week and things like that."