A total of 44 European Tour Members will tee it up in this week’s WGC-HSBC Champions, where World Number Three Rory McIlroy will attempt to strengthen his grip on the Race to Dubai.
The Northern Irishman extended his lead over Danny Willett by finishing tied sixth at last week’s Turkish Airlines Open, and a win at Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai would put him in a commanding position halfway through the lucrative four-tournament Final Series.
McIlroy has already won one WGC title this year, at the WGC-Cadillac Match Play in May, and he would love to add another before signing off on a season tainted by the ankle injury he suffered playing football in July.
A world-class field will try to prevent him doing that, however, with two-time Major winner Martin Kaymer one of those with it all to play for before the season is out. The German, who won the title in 2011, currently lies 18th in the Race to Dubai and will be aiming to move into the top 15, thereby securing a slice of the US$5million Bonus Pool.
Ireland’s Shane Lowry will attempt to become only the second player in history to win back-to-back WGC events – following Tiger Woods – after his brilliant win at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in August.
“To win one WGC event was special enough – to win another would be incredible. - Lowry
“I definitely feel like I’ve taken my game to the next level – I now expect to compete with the best players in the world in the biggest tournaments in the world.”
Jordan Spieth, winner of the first two Majors of the season and current World Number Two is also in the line-up, as is Bubba Watson, the defending champion who produced a thrilling finish last year when he holed a bunker shot for eagle at the last to get into a play-off with Tim Clark, then beat the South African with a 25-foot birdie putt at the first extra hole.
Of the 44 members teeing it up in China, 11 are making their WGC-HSBC Champions debut - Byeong Hun An, Nick Cullen, Trevor Fisher Jnr, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Emiliano Grillo, Tyrrell Hatton, Richard T Lee, James Morrison, Thomas Pieters, Andy Sullivan and Danie Van Tonder.
Fisher Jnr, Fitzpatrick, who won his maiden title at the British Masters supported by Sky Sports last month, Grillo, Hatton, Lee, Morrison and Pieters, a two-time European Tour winner this season, are all making their first World Golf Championship appearances.
