By Will Pearson, europeantour.com
at Hong Kong Golf Club
World Number Seven Justin Rose will begin his bid for the UBS Hong Kong Open title alongside a Ryder Cup a team-mate and opponent in Graeme McDowell and Dustin Johnson when play gets under way in Fanling on Thursday morning.
Rose, making his first appearance at Hong Kong Golf Club since 2011 this week, currently lies fifth in The Race to Dubai heading into the final event of the regular European Tour season with the ‘Final Series’ to come and will hit the fairways at 1210 in the first round in the company of a fellow Major Champion in McDowell and American Johnson, who claimed three top ten finishes in golf’s grandest four events in 2015.
Elsewhere, Johnson’s compatriot Patrick Reed, making his UBS Hong Kong Open debut this week, starts his campaign at 0740 on Thursday with British Masters champion Matthew Fitzpatrick and up-and-coming Chinese superstar Li Hao-Tong.
Three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington begins his tournament alongside Asian stars Rashid Khan and CT Pan from 0800, while late invitee Ian Poulter accompanies Italian Open champion Rikard Karlberg and Anirban Lahiri, who is looking to win his third title of the 2015 campaign this week in Hong Kong, from 1200.
Last year’s champion Scott Hend begins his defence at 0750 in a threeball with four-time Hong Kong Open winner Miguel Angel Jimenez and Thai Thongchai Jaidee, while Frenchman Victor Dubuisson hits the links with Jeev Milkha Singh and Chinese start Liang Wen-Chong from 1150.
As well as the battle for the revered title this week, there is also the sub-plot of players battling it out to retain their playing priveleges for next season with the top 110 in The Race to Dubai following the conclusion of this tournament keep their European Tour card.
Right on that mark with one tournament to go is Thailand’s Prom Meesawat, who tees off at 0720 with Sweden’s Peter Hanson and Australian Wade Orsmby.
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