Hong Kong Open boasts strongest golf field ever
The Hong Kong Open this month will feature its strongest field ever, with 40 of Europe's top 60 players and all of the top 10 from the Asian Tour, according to organisers.
The tournament is the penultimate event in the Race to Dubai with world numbers four and five, Paul Casey and Lee Westwood, teeing off along with Asia's first Major winner, Yang Yong-Eun.
Organisers said Tuesday that reigning European Tour Order of Merit champion Robert Karlsson would also play, as would Ian Poulter, who won the Singaopre Open last weekend, and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy.
They join South African ace Rory Sabbatini, European stalwarts Colin Montgomerie and Miguel Angel Jimenez and Major winners Mark O'Meara and Ben Curtis.
"It is, far and away, the best field ever seen in Hong Kong," said Martin Capstick, managing director of the tournament promoter, Parallel Media Group.
"The latest player confirmations, together with those already unveiled, mean we have 14 of the world's top 50 according to the Official World Golf Ranking, which is unprecedented.
"We have 40 of the leading 60 players in the European Tour's Race To Dubai, including four of the top six, and all the top 10 in the Asian Tour's Order of Merit."
Westwood currently leads the Race to Dubai, which concludes at the Dubai World Championships on November 19-22, ahead of Germany's Martin Kaymer and McIlroy.
The Hong Kong Open, co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours, takes place from November 12-15.
