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Last updated: 23-04-2011 from 07:00 until 11:00

11-04-2011 on 10:59

Day 3 :: European Tour 2010/2011 - Volvo China Open - Luxehills International Country Club :: Chengdu, China

Volvo China Open Preview:

The Volvo China Open returns for its 17th year, teeing off in Sichuan Province from April 21-24. With a record purse of 20 million RMB (about USD 3 million), a 20% increase over 2010 and a long way from the USD 400,000 offered during its 1995 debut, the tournament has progressed steadily over the years.

True to the promise of its long time sponsor, Volvo, to move the championship around the country, this year sees the tournament heading southwest for the first time for a date at Luxehills Golf and Country Club near Chengdu. While the three-year-old JMP Golf Design club has previously played host to events on the now-defunct China Tour and the China LPGA Tour, it is the first time the par-72, 7,335-yard layout has hosted the championship, co-sponsored by the European PGA Tour and the upstart OneAsia Tour.

Unlike previous years when the championship fell the week after the US Masters, a situation that often kept the top players from attending, this year's tournament is in the middle of a three-week Asian swing. Besides the VCO, consecutive big money events are taking place in the Malaysian Open and the Ballantine's Championship in South Korea, a schedule that will undoubtedly attract the game's best talents.

The presence of Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia, along with top Asian talents Liang Wenchong, Zhang Lianwei, Jeev Milkha Singh and Thongchai Jaidee in the field immediately gives the tournament star appeal.

Irishman Harrington is a three-time Major winner, Ryder Cup star and one of the top draws in golf. A journeyman on the European Tour, his breakthrough came in 2007 at the British Open when he overtook a faltering Garcia in a playoff at Carnoustie for his first Major title. The 39-year-old Dubliner successfully defended his Open title the following year at Royal Birkdale and then won the PGA Championship later that summer to establish himself as one of the game's greats. Since then, victories have been few for Harrington. He won a minor title in the 2009 Irish PGA Championship and capped off a disappointing 2010 campaign missing the cut at three of the four Majors with a victory at the Johor Open in Malaysia in October.

So far, this year, Harrington has yet to shine, tying for 63rd at Pebble Beach and being knocked out in the first round of matchplay in Arizona. Perhaps a prolonged break would be the tonic as it has been for Garcia.

The 31-year-old Spaniard, a 20-time winner around the world, took a two-month break from golf last year, citing "lost motivation" and being "drained". He returned in late October, missing the cut at the Castello Masters, but has since been in the money for five consecutive tournaments, his best a ninth-place finish at the Qatar Masters.

Garcia has now declared that he wants to be number one and he has the experience to do it. Since bursting on the international golf scene in 1999 when he dueled Tiger Woods down the stretch at the PGA Championship, only to finish second at Medinah, El Niño has now finished runner-up three times at a Major, but has yet to win. Asia, however, has been good to Garcia as he won the 2008 HSBC Champions in Shanghai, capping off a career year when he won five times.

For Harrington and Garcia, both of whom are receiving hefty appearance fees to make the trek to southwest China, winning will not be a formality in Chengdu as they will face a field made up of top European Tour players and the best Asian talents.

Liang Wenchong, the China No. 1, will undoubtedly draw a gallery as big as the star attractions and rightly so. The 32-year-old Zhongshan native is playing some of the best golf of his career. Last year he won the Order of Merit on the One Asia Tour, a rival to the Asian Tour, on the strength of victories at the Luxehills Chengdu Open, the same course hosting this year's VCO, and the Thailand Open in July. He finished the year off strongly as a runner-up at the Indonesian Open to win USD 560,737 on the Tour for the year. Perhaps Liang's most impressive performance was finishing eighth at the US PGA Championship in August, establishing himself as one of the world's best players. In early March, Liang was 76th in the World Ranking.

Joining Liang in the field at Chengdu is Zhang Liangwei, the country's golf pioneer. The 45-year-old Zhuhai native won the 2003 VCO at Shanghai Silport and blazed a trail that has opened the door for all Chinese golfers in his wake. He will be joined in Chengdu by 10 domestic players chosen by the China Golf Association, and the VCO junior champion. There are also 13 qualifying spots open for the tournament.

Source : cibmagazine.com.cn