The Hong Kong Open has been part of The European Tour International Schedule since the 2002 season (November 2001) and has been played for 53 years. It will once again be the last counting event – alongside the SA Open Championship the same week – for players to earn their spot in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, with entry reserved for those who have finished in the top 60 in The Race to Dubai. In 2011 Rory McIlroy claimed the title - holing a stunning bunker shot at the last for birdie and the win - to add to his US Open triumph earlier in the season. The win in Hong Kong kept alive his chances of catching Luke Donald at the top of The Race to Dubai, which he ultimately failed to do, but this season it is the Northern Irishman who leads the money list heading into the tournament.
