Volvo China Open Preview

The European Tour travels to China this week for the Volvo China Open. South Korea's Y.E. Yang defends the title at Luxehills International Country Club.

Y.E. Yang
Fergus Bisset
By Fergus Bisset
published

Lowdown: The European Tour travels to China this week for the Volvo China Open. Y.E. Yang defends the title at Luxehills International Country Club. A strong field has assembled for this year's event, many international stars attracted by an increased purse and a winner's prize of €350,000. There are four Major winner's on the start sheet including defending champion Yang and three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington. Sergio Garcia and Colin Montgomerie are also making an apperance. In last year's event Y.E. Yang secured a two-shot victory over the Welsh duo of Rhys Davies and Stephen Dodd. The South Korean could make history this week by becoming the first man to successfully defend the Volvo China Open title. This year sees the eighth staging of the Volvo China Open on the European Tour and a seventh different venue for the tournament since Stephen Dodd took the title at Shanghai Silport GC in 2005. Luxehills International Country Club is in Chengdu, Sichuan Province to the south west of China. Designed by Mark Hollinger and opened for play in 2007, it's an extremely attractive parkland layout featuring a number of dramatic rocky outcrops as well as plenty of water.

Venue: Luxehills International Country Club Date: April 21-24 Course stats: par 72, 7,335 yards Purse: €2,150,000, Winner: €350,946 Defending Champion: Y.E. Yang (-15)

TV Coverage: Thursday 21 - Live on Sky Sports 1 from 6am Friday 22 - Live on Sky Sports 1 from 6am Saturday 23 - Live on Sky Sports 2 from 6am Sunday 24 - Live on Sky Sports 2 from 6am

Player Watch: Y.E. Yang - Last year's winner put in a solid showing at the recent US Masters. He's established himself as a significant force in world golf and he'll be looking to make history here by defending his title.

Rhys Davies - He narrowly lost out in the Trophee Hassan II at the start of this month and showed signs of coming back to the form he displayed in the middle of last season. He was runner-up in this event last year.

Gregory Bourdy - The Frenchman was runner-up to Matteo Manassero last week and he finished strongly with rounds of 66 and 67 on the weekend. He'll be aiming to continue that run and, if he does, he could feature this week.

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Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly. 

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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