Dunlop Phoenix again attracts strong field
IN: News | Japan | Dunlop Phoenix Tournament (2005) | Preview | by Bruce Young | 16 Nov 2005
The Japan Golf Tour's flagship event, the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament, starts Thursday near Miyazaki on the south east coast of the southern island of Kyushsu and as is often the case, the tournament has attracted a high class field.
Anytime you have Tiger Woods in the field, it is clearly going to raise the standard of the overall field and he will obviously dominate the favouritism and interest in the event.
Woods is here for the third time in the last four years and is the defending champion having beaten Ricky Kawagishi by a massive eight shots last year. Woods also finished eighth here in 2002. He will not have things all his own way however, against a field which also includes Michael Campbell, Colin Montgomerie, Jim Furyk, two time winner Thomas Bjorn and Robert Allenby in addition the leading Japanese stars such as money list leader, Shingo Katayama, Toshi Izawa, and Keiichi Fukabori. Leading Japan Golf Tour regulars S.K. Ho and David Smail, all of whom have had outstanding seasons are also in the lineup.
Another of interest is David Duval, who recorded his last win in tournament golf when winning here in 2001.
The Phoenix Country Club is situated adjacent to the Sea of Japan and is on land where pine trees dominate the vegetation. It is outstanding golf course country. The layout has played host to this event for thirty years and has challenged many of the world's leading players over that time.
The tournament purse is ¥200 million (A$2.3 million), by far the most lucrative event on the Japan Golf Tour although perhaps surprisingly it represents the same amount of prizemoney that the event was played for in 1990.
