Wednesday 19 September 2018 17:54, UK
Sergio Garcia insists he does not have anything to prove when he makes his ninth Ryder Cup appearance next week at Le Golf National.
The Spaniard was named as one of Thomas Bjorn's four wildcard picks despite a disappointing year on the PGA Tour and European Tour, where he missed the cut in all four majors.
Garcia has only posted one top-10 finish since March and many have shared concerns about his 2018 form, but the 38-year-old believes there is no reason for him to have to justify his selection.
"I don't need to show anyone," Garcia said. "The only thing I have to do is go out there and help Team Europe - my team-mates and my captain and vice-captains - not only with the game on the golf course but outside, in the team room and everything.
"There are things that are important to have in a team. I think that is one of the reasons why Thomas picked me, not only because of the game he knows I can play, but what I can bring outside of the golf course into the team room and stuff."
Garcia has not featured competitively since the Wyndham Championship, where he failed to qualify for the FedExCup Play-Offs, but returns to action at the Portugal Masters to help prepare for Paris.
"I told Thomas, 'if you end up picking me, I'll make sure that I play something coming into the Ryder Cup'," Garcia added. "I didn't want to be without playing for four or five weeks coming into such a big and amazing event.
"Portugal seemed like a good fit and I'm happy that I decided to come here. Obviously, the course is nice, it's going to be a good test and I'm excited for it.
"I took a couple of weeks off and started practising again. The game feels pretty good. Obviously, there are some things here and there that I would love to do a little bit better and that's what I'm working on. The game overall feels good.
"Obviously getting a win would be amazing, you can't beat confidence. That would be nice but more than anything I just want to get some rhythm, get some competition juices flowing, that's one of the main reasons that I wanted to come here."
Watch the Portugal Masters throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the opening round begins on Thursday from 11.30am on Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event.
