Leading golfers, including world number three Ernie Els and sixth-ranked Sergio Garcia, have signed up for the $2,3-million Johnnie Walker Classic in Beijing.
The event, which counts towards the European, Asian and Australasian tours, will be held at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Pine Valley Golf Resort and Country Club from April 21 to 24.
Other stars teeing off include defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain and Britain’s Nick Faldo, a winner in 1990 and 1993.
South Korean number one Choi Kyung-ju and Chinas leading player, Zhang Lian-wei, will lead the Asian challenge.
”We are excited to welcome more of the best and most inspiring names in golf to our tournament to join what is shaping up to be one of our strongest fields in the 14-year history of our event,” said Johnnie Walker spokesperson Ben Anderson.
It is the first time the event, one of the top tournaments in the early part of the year, has been held in mainland China, although Hong Kong first hosted the event in 1990.
The European Tour already sanctions four other tournaments in China where golf is growing in popularity after being outlawed for decades under the country’s communist leadership.
Already this season, China has hosted the Volvo Open won by Stephen Dodd and the Hong Kong Open won by Jimenez.
The southern island of Hainan will host the TCL Classic next month and the BMW Asian Open will be played in Shanghai in May.
Jimenez is an expert at winning in Asia and he last year drove his way to his best season to date as a professional.
His title defence is expected to come under threat from Els, last year’s European Tour Order of Merit winner and the Johnnie Walker champion in 1997 and 2003.
Last year, Els, known as the ”Big Easy”, won five tournaments worldwide and could have easily added a few more, especially at the Majors where he finished second in the US Masters and British Open. — Sapa-AFP