Ernie Els, the World Number Three, and Retief Goosen, World Number Five and current leader of The European Tour Order of Merit, will spearhead a world class field in this week’s Johnnie Walker Classic when the tournament visits mainland China for the first time.
Els, winner of back-to-back titles in Dubai and Qatar on The European Tour International Schedule last month, and Goosen, the reigning US Open Champion who finished joint third in the Masters Tournament earlier this month, are joined by Spain’s Sergio Garcia and Australian Adam Scott from the World’s Top Ten on the Jack Nicklaus designed Pine Valley Golf Resort and Country Club in the Chinese capital of Beijing.
World Number 13 Luke Donald of England, who shared third place with Goosen on his Masters debut at Augusta National, and defending champion Miguel Angel Jiménez of Spain, who also lies in the World Top 20 in 18th place, further enhance the strong international gathering for The European Tour’s third visit to China this season.
One of the most popular events of the year, the Johnnie Walker Classic has been won by some of the greatest players in the game. Els, winner of two US Open titles and one Open Championship, will be chasing his third Johnnie Walker Classic title having triumphed in 1997 and 2003, as will six-time Major Champion Nick Faldo, winner in 1990 and 1993. Goosen, who has two US Open trophies in his locker, won in Perth, Australia in 2002, while the other Major Champion in the field, Scotland’s Paul Lawrie, will be looking to build on his solid performances in Portugal and Spain in the past three weeks as he seeks his first win in the event.
Five of Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup team from Oakland Hills Country Club are in action – Donald, Garcia and Jiménez being joined by Paul Casey, who tasted success in the TCL Classic on the Tour’s last visit to China, and Colin Montgomerie.
Thomas Björn, one of Bernhard Langer’s backroom staff in 2004, will also play along with former winner Michael Campbell and Asian favourites Thongchai Jaidee, Mardan Mamat, Jyoti Randhawa, Thaworn Wiratchant and Lian-wei Zhang, who is bidding to win the title in his native country.
The Asian Tour players will, of course, be arriving in Beijing riding the crest of a wave having beaten Japan in the Visa Dynasty Cup, Asia’s version of The Ryder Cup, at Mission Hills at the weekend. Eleven of the winning 12 man team will be in action.
The 2005 Johnnie Walker Classic, the 14th edition of the event tri-sanctioned by The European Tour, Asian Tour and Australasian Tour, carries a record prize fund of £1,250,000, a 25 per cent increase on the previous year. First played in 1990 in Hong Kong, the event has been played in eight different Asian cities over ten different golf courses.
