The 0720 group teeing off the tenth on Thursday might be mistaken for a long drive competition, with defending champion and big hitter Kiradech Aphibarnrat joining notoriously long American Bubba Watson for the first two rounds of the Shenzhen International.
Aphibarnrat, who beat Li Haotong in a play-off for the title last year, heads into the event buoyed by his tied 15th place finish in the Masters, while Watson has form in China, having won the 2014 WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.
Completing that three-ball is Chinese teenager Dou Zechang, who in 2013 became the youngest player to make the cut in a European Tour event at the Volvo China Open.
If it’s charisma and flair you’re after, look no further than the 1220 group off the first tee, which comprises evergreen Spaniard Miguel Angel Jiménez, Frenchman Victor Dubuisson and the aforementioned Li.
European Tour legend Jiménez always attracts plenty of attention wherever he plays, as does Ryder Cup star Dubuisson, who heads to China on the back of a top 50 finish at the Masters, while Li showed his potential in the four Chinese events on the European Tour last year by racking up three top ten finishes and a 37 under par aggregate.
Elsewhere, it will be an early start for Thorbjørn Olesen, Tommy Fleetwood and another man who has tasted victory in China, Alex Levy, who get their respective Shenzhen International challenges under way at 0700 from the tenth tee.
Levy’s win at the 2014 Volvo China Open came here at Genzon Golf Club, with Fleetwood in second place.
To see the full tee times, please clickHERE.
