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Garcia has eye surgery, plans to return for three events to end 2012

By PA Sport
Published on
Garcia has eye surgery, plans to return for three events to end 2012

LONDON -- Sergio Garcia will make his comeback from eye surgery at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

The Spaniard, who has not played since helping Europe to victory over the United States at the Ryder Cup in Medinah, underwent an operation to correct an astigmatism. He was the only one of the 12 victorious team members to miss last week’s BMW Masters in Shanghai.

Garcia will now return at the European Tour's season-ending event, which gets underway at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in the United Arab Emirates on Nov. 22.

"I had the surgery, but everything went very well," the world No. 21 said. "I will have three tournaments towards the end of the year. I hope I can play good, finish on a high note and get ready for next year."

The 32-year-old will then head for the Asian Tour in December after confirming his place in the field for the Thailand Golf Championship, as well as the Iskandar Johor Open in Malaysia.

"I really like Thailand, I have been there for holiday and I really enjoyed the country," said Garcia, who finished tied for 24th in the event last year. "The tournament is very well organized, and I think it is a very nice tournament; everyone does a great job there."

Hunter Mahan will also be at the Amata Spring Country Club from Dec. 6-9 for the Thailand Golf Championship, the penultimate event on this year's Asian Tour calendar.

The American is added to a stellar field that already included former world No. 1 Lee Westwood and major winners Darren Clarke, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Bubba Watson.

"My wife, Kandi, and I went on a vacation in Thailand a couple of years ago," Mahan said. "We love to travel and it was definitely one of our favorite trips.

"The beaches were beautiful, the food was great -- we had a really good time so I thought it was a great place for me to play, a great place for me to see and to show Thailand what kind of golfer I am."