By IANS,
Shanghai : World No.3 Vijay Singh, the runaway leader of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup play-offs, has confirmed his place in the field for the 2008 HSBC Champions at Sheshan International Golf Club, Shanghai Nov 6-9.
The 45-year-old, who has won both of the FedEx Cup events – the Deutsche Bank Championship and The Barclays – and also triumphed in the final WGC event of the year, the Bridgestone Invitational, has added his name to the ever growing list of star golfers challenging for the 2008 HSBC Champions.
The field now includes all of the world’s top five active players, having been strengthened even further by the entries of world No.6 Henrik Stenson together with world No. 10 Geoff Ogilvy.
The Fijian star joins two other three-time Major winners in the form of defending champion and world No.2 Phil Mickelson, and world No.4 Padraig Harrington.
Sergio Garcia, ranked fifth in the world, has also booked his flight to Shanghai along with 2008 Masters champion, Trevor Immelman, and world No.11 Adam Scott.
Singh, a popular winner of over 59 titles around the world, explained: “The strength and depth of this field certainly makes the HSBC Champions one of the strongest tournaments outside the Majors. It would be a great title to win, especially as many of the players now view it as Asia’s Major.”
In 2007, Singh described the greens at Sheshan as the best he had putted on all year, and the Fijian is eagerly anticipating his return. “Shanghai is a very exciting city to visit so I am looking forward to returning and I think the course at Sheshan is a fantastic setting for an event of this calibre,” he said.
The HSBC Champions’ unique qualifying format brings tournament winners from around the world together to compete alongside the world’s top 50 leading players.
Stenson, who hit the winning putt in the 2006 Ryder Cup and will again represent Europe at Valhalla, Kentucky later this month added: “This is a really significant event for all the European Tour players as it is the very first event for the Race to Dubai and has one of the largest prize funds on offer. A win at the HSBC Champions would certainly give me a great start in the race, as well as some pretty significant World Ranking points with so many top ranked players in the field.”
Ogilvy, winner of the 2006 US Open and Australia’s highest ranked player added: “I am delighted to be playing in the HSBC Champions for the first time this year and am looking forward to catching up with a few familiar faces who will qualify as winners from the Australasian Tour.”