American Phil Mickelson will play in China for the first time when he travels to Shanghai for this year’s HSBC Champions tournament, organisers announced Friday.
The world number three will join already confirmed stars Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Sergio Garcia from November 8-11 for the five-million-dollar tournament that has become known as ‘Asia’s Major’.
“Ive been looking at a way of including this event in my schedule and am delighted that this year I will be there competing for the Champion of Champions title,” Mickelson said in a statement.
“I would really like to win an international title of this magnitude, especially as I will be competing against so many great winners from the different tours.”
Mickelson is also expected to play in the previous week’s Singapore Open, a four million-dollar Asian Tour event.
The Shanghai event is co-sanctioned by the European, Asian, Australasian and South African tours, and by the China Golf Association. Winners from those tours and players in the world’s top 50 are eligible.
Mickelson is the winner of more than 30 titles on the PGA Tour in the United States, including the 2004 and 2006 Masters and the 2005 PGA Championship.
But the left-hander has always struggled overseas and he has not lifted a trophy on foreign soil since winning the France Open in 1993.
World number one Tiger Woods has played the past two years in Shanghai but organisers have already announced that he will not return in 2007.
Last year 10 of the world’s top 20 players competed, but South Korea’s Yang Yong-Eun upstaged them all to win at 14 under, two strokes ahead of Woods.

Source: turkishpress.com