GOLF: Sergio Garcia returns to the scene of his maiden PGA Tour victory today when he tees off in the Colonial Championship at Fort Worth, Texas.

The 22-year-old Spaniard broke his duck in America last year when he carded a final round 63 to finish two clear of Phil Mickelson and Brian Gay.

Garcia will be out to win his second US title of the season - and his third of the year - over the par 70 Colonial Country Club layout.

Garcia has said several times that his aim is to finish top of the money lists in both America and Europe this year.

The world number five lies eighth on the US order of merit - thanks chiefly to his victory in the season-opening Mercedes Championship - and fourth in Europe following his victory in the Spanish Open.

His 13-under-par winning score last year proved to be the catalyst to a successful season that also saw him win the Buick Open. He finished sixth on the money list.

"It really helped, and being against Phil (Mickelson) was even better," Garcia said of last year's victory. It really gave me a lot of confidence, relaxed me a little knowing that I had my first win."

Garcia's chances will be boosted by the absence of Tiger Woods, who is competing at the Deutsche Bank Open in Germany, which starts tomorrow.

The nature of the 7,080-yard Colonial layout also favours precision swingers like Garcia, a fact which helped Ben Hogan secure five Colonial victories between 1946 and 1959.

Last season Garcia credited his success to hitting "perfect shots and playing in perfect spots", and he will again look to the strength of his long irons.

Mickelson is also likely to be among the front runners this week. The left-hander will aim to add to his victory in the Bob Hope Classic in January and make up some ground on Woods on the money list.

Mickelson lies second on the American order of merit, and the $774,000 winner's cheque would certainly make a big dent in the arrears.

David Toms, tied eighth last season and fourth the year before, is also showing more signs of the form that enabled him to finish third on the 2001 US ranking.

Toms' joint-fourth finish last week in the Byron Nelson Classic will also help his confidence coming into the Colonial.

Other players to look out for include last week's winner Shigeki Maruyama, and KJ Choi, who secured his maiden US title in New Orleans two weeks ago.