Sergio Garcia will attempt to record his own personal ‘first' in Shanghai next month at the HSBC Champions.

The event at the Sheshan International Golf Club from November 5-8 has been elevated to a World Golf Championship event for the first time.

The 29-year-old Spaniard captured the HSBC Champions title last November, following a play-off with England's Oliver Wilson, adding the tournament to the plethora of titles he has garnered across the globe since he turned professional a decade ago.

But although Garcia has achieved almost everything in the game, the one thing missing from his golfing CV is a successful title defence and it is something the eight time European Tour champion is keen to put right when he returns to China in two weeks time.

"I suppose being defending champion brings its own unique pressure but, actually, I feel more excited than anything else about going back to Shanghai," he said. "I'll be the defending champion on a course I really enjoy and it goes without saying I'd love this to be the first tournament in my career that I successfully defend.

"To win last year was very exciting for me as the HSBC Champions had such a strong field. I value all my titles around the world for different reasons but it is right up there as one of my best wins.

"I don't need any extra motivation to try and win again, the fact the tournament is now a WGC is enough. I'd love to win a WGC event as they are just below the Majors in importance. I haven't won one yet so I'd love to do that and defend my title at the same time - that would be some week."

Garcia will headline an impressive European challenge for the fourth and final WGC of the 2009 season, all keen to see a European name added to the WGC Roll of Honour this year which, to date, features Australia's Geoff Ogilvy and Americans Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.

Alongside the Spaniard will be players of the calibre of Sweden's Henrik Stenson, winner of The Players Championship on the US PGA Tour in May, and three time Major Champion Padraig Harrington of Ireland who both joined the chorus of approval at the decision to award WGC status to the HSBC Champions.

"It is right that the World Golf Championships are played all around the world as the name suggests and I think this tournament is the right choice," said Stenson. "It is already a very established international golf tournament and I think China will make an excellent job of welcoming the world's best players for a great week of golf."

"I think it is an excellent decision by the International Federation of PGA Tours. The HSBC Champions established itself immediately on the players' schedules and has gotten better and better every year," added Harrington.

Also in the field are the men who currently occupy the top four places in The Race to Dubai on The European Tour - England's Lee Westwood, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, Germany's Martin Kaymer and Paul Casey of England who will all be keen to take advantage of the increased US$7 million prize fund on offer and strengthen their position with the season-ending Dubai World Championship looming.

DID YOU KNOW - WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
After Tiger Woods, who has 16 WGC titles to his name, the next most prolific winner in the WGC arena is Australian Geoff Ogilvy with three; at the WGC-Accenture Match Play in 2006 and 2009, and the 2008 WGC-CA Championship. Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke is the only other multiple WGC winner having claimed the 2000 WGC - Accenture Match Play and the 2003 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

DID YOU KNOW - HSBC CHAMPIONS
Englishman David Howell, who won the first HSBC Champions at Sheshan International Golf Club in November 2005, still holds the record low score for the event with his 20 under par total of 268 that year. He is also still the only winner to date to record all four rounds in the 60s.