Outstanding field for HSBC Champions
BY Bruce Young | Asian Tour | 2008 HSBC Champions Tournament | Preview | 05 Nov 2008
No sooner had it stopped than it is back again. The 2008 European Tour finished last Sunday in Spain and this week the 2009 version gets underway in China with the staging of the HSBC Champions event at the Sheshan International Golf Club in China.
The event is being staged for the fourth time with each previous event being played at the Nelson Haworth designed golfing facility on the outskirts of Shanghai. David Howell, Yong-eun Yang and Phil Mickelson have been the three winners to date.
The select 77 player field has earned their right to play this event as a result of their position in the top ten of the world rankings or their performances on various money lists around the world or because they have won specific events. As a result, perhaps the strongest field ever assembled in Asia will be put to the test starting on Thursday.
The tournament will again be co-sanctioned by The European Tour, Asian Tour, the PGA Tour of Australasia, the Sunshine Tour, and the China Golf Association. With six of the leading eight golfers in the world in the field, this is an outstanding event.
The leading world ranked player is the defending champion, Phil Mickelson, who last year defeated Ross Fisher and Lee Westwood in a playoff for the title. With players such as Padraig Harrington, Robert Karlsson, Sergio Garcia, Camilo Villegas and Anthony Kim in the field in addition to many others who are coming to the end of successful seasons on their respective tours however, this is a wide open event.
Australasian representation is headed by Adam Scot and Geoff Ogilvy in so much as their world ranking gives them that designation. Mark Brown, Scott Strange, Rick Kulacz, Scott Hend, David Gleeson and Andrew Bonhomme make up the balance of the Australasians.
Bonhomme, who qualified for this event by topping the 2007 Von Nida Tour money list in Australia, has a chance to turn around what has been a horrible season in the US after injuring himself in a fall earlier this year. Last week he made it through Stage One qualifying for the USPGA Tour.
The tournament has prizemoney of US$5,000,000.
