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ajor champion and crowd favorite Sergio Garcia will defend his title at the SMBC Singapore Open in January, the organizers have announced.

The 2019 SMBC Singapore Open, to be played at Sentosa Golf Club from Jan. 17 to 20, will again be jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Japan Golf Tour Organization with prize money of at least US$1 million.

The tournament will also be part of the Open Qualifying Series for the third straight season with the leading four non-exempt players booking their places for the 148th Open, which will held be held at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland from July 18 to 21.

In a nod to Garcia’s huge talent and priceless experience, Europe captain Thomas Bjorn chose the Spaniard as one of his captain’s picks for the upcoming Ryder Cup against the United States at Le Golf National, Paris, from Sept. 28 to 30.

Garcia has repeatedly proven himself a great team player with starring roles in the Ryder Cup. He was a member of the Europe Ryder Cup team in 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2016 with five of his appearances resulting in victories.

“It feels amazing. I’m very thankful to Thomas [Bjorn] for believing in me. I know that it probably wasn’t an easy decision, but he knows what I bring to the team, not only game-wise but inside the team room,” Garcia said in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post.

The Spanish superstar arrived at this year’s SMBC Singapore Open having won the US Masters last year and lived up to his star billing by playing exquisite golf to win by five strokes.

Garcia will be competing at Sentosa Golf Club for the third successive year following his joint 11th place finish last year and crushing victory in January.

He attracted big galleries on both occasions with Singaporean fans taking the Spaniard to their hearts.

“It was great winning in Singapore earlier this year as a memorable 12 months for me came full circle,” said the 38-year-old Garcia, a multiple winner in the US, Europe and Asia. “Things really started to happen after my debut in the SMBC Singapore Open at the start of 2017 and winning on my return was really big.”

It is no surprise that Garcia won the SMBC Singapore Open in January as he is regarded as something of an Asian specialist, having tasted victory in the Kolon Cup Korea Open (2002), the Champions Tournament in Shanghai (2008), the Iskandar Johor Open (2012), the Thailand Golf Championship (2013) and the Ho Tram Open in Vietnam (2015).

His final round 68 at Sentosa Golf Club in January spreadeagled a quality field although Garcia was quick to dispel any notion that his victory was easy.

“It might have looked easy but I still had to hit a lot of good shots, and I was able to do that,” he said after finishing the tournament on 14-under 270 to chalk up his sixth title on the Asian Tour and his 33rd worldwide.

Ross Tan, the president of the Singapore Golf Association, said it was great news that the titleholder was returning next year.