Sergio Garcia to play British Masters

Sergio Garcia is "excited" to return a favour for his friend Lee Westwood and has commited to playing in September's British Masters at Close House Golf Club in Northumberland.

Garcia has not played in this event in 19 years, but he felt he should return the favour after Westwood played in Garcia's 2016 charity event in Switzerland.

"It's going to be great," said Garcia. "Lee came to play our charity event last year in Switzerland, Sergio and Friends, so he made a great effort to come over there right after The Open Championship.

"He asked me if I would do the same thing for him for the British Masters and obviously he is a good friend of mine, so I said yes.

"I'm excited about it. I played it as an amateur a couple of times and I have good memories."

Westwood was delighted to have his Ryder Cup team mate and 2017 Masters winner on board, and commented:

"He is certainly a great addition to the tournament," said Lee. "The response so far from fans has been brilliant and it's getting very well supported with sponsors. The field is shaping up nicely so it will be a great week and I'm really looking forward to it."

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