Sergio Garcia ready for return to Valderrama

Sergio Garcia has labeled Real Club Valderrama as his favorite golf course in the world.

The Fireballs GC captain likely has good reason for that. From Borriol, about an eight-hour drive up the Spanish coast from Sotogrande -- where the club is located, Garcia is an honorary member of Real Club Valderrama.

He and his teammates -- fellow Spaniards David Puig and Eugenio Chacarra, as well as Abraham Ancer of Mexico -- will compete this weekend in the LIV Golf Andalucia event at the course.

"It feels amazing," Garcia said. "Obviously every time we come back to Spain, it feels really, really good. Obviously home country for all four of us, I would say. We're taking (Ancer) in the Spanish spirit. But to come back to Valderrama, it's super special. Not only for me but for all of us because of how much Valderrama means to all of us, to Europe, all the amazing things that have happened here on this golf course. We're really excited about it."

Garcia, 44, and company aren't the only LIV Golf members observing some semblance of a homecoming, however. Spain's Jon Rahm will lead Legion XIII in the event, but Garcia downplayed the notion of a rivalry.

"Well, there's a rivalry with everyone, but obviously we know how good Jon is and what he means to Spanish golf, too," Garcia said. "It's normal that he's going to have a big following here, too, and his team. But we're happy where we stand, and we know that we're going to have an amazing support. We're happy with that."

Garcia was making his first comments since he failed to qualify for The Open Championship last week. His lone major win was the 2017 Masters.

Rahm, 29, is bidding for his elusive first individual title since joining LIV Golf last December. Rahm ranks second behind Joaquin Niemann in the LIV points standings despite his winless status.

The 54-player field will compete in a three-day event with shotgun starts. There are 12 four-player teams and two independent wild card players. Torque GC is the defending champion in the team competition, while Talor Gooch is the reigning individual winner.

--Field Level Media