• When England’s Paul Casey, defeated Oliver Wilson in a play-off to win the 2006 (Nov 2005) Volvo China Open he defended his title just short of five months after claiming victory. This is the shortest time span from a player winning a European Tour title then defending it, in European Tour history - a gap of 137 days, dating back from 27th November 2005 to 13th April 2006.
• Defending champion Damien McGrane, claimed his maiden European Tour title 12 months ago. His winning margin of nine shots was the largest on the 2008 European Tour. McGrane’s success was one of eight Irish wins last year – their most in a single season.
• In the 14 stagings of the Volvo China Open, there have been 14 different winners, from ten different countries. England have the most wins with three – Ed Fryatt (1998), Simon Dyson (2000) and Paul Casey (Nov 2005 – part of the 2006 European Tour season). The host nation have produced two winners – Chen Jun (1997) and Zhang Lian-wei (2003).
• Volvo have sponsored the Volvo China Open since the event began in 1995. This will be the 67th European Tour event that Volvo have put their name to. Their first event was the Volvo Belgian Open in 1987.
