BMW Asian Open to tee up in Shanghai

For the first time in its three-year history, the BMW Asian Open will tee up in Mainland China at the Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club from 13 to 16 May 2004.

Tournament organisers BMW Group have already confirmed that five star players will be among the field: Padraig Harrington, Greg Norman, John Daly, Alex Cejka and China's top-ranked golfer Zhang Lian-wei. Both Harrington and Daly are previous BMW tournament winners. With its US$1.5 million prize purse, the BMW Asian Open will be China's highest prize money golf event of the season.

The BMW Asian Open is joint-sanctioned by the China Golf Association and the PGA European Tour. The PGA European Tour will be represented with 66 players; a further 66 players will come from the Asian region along with 16 players from the China Golf Association and 8 BMW sponsor invites. The BMW Asian Open Pro-Am will be played on 12 May 2004.

Mr. Ulrich Thum, Managing Director, BMW Group Greater China said, "BMW is excited to be bringing some of the best professional golfers to China with the historic first playing of the BMW Asian Open in Shanghai. With its blend of performance and style, world-class golf shares many similarities with the world-class automotive engineering of BMW."

On the decision to hold the event in Shanghai, Mr. Franz Jung, Senior Vice President, BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. said, "Among the many dynamic cities in China, Shanghai stands out for many reasons. Not only is it the financial and economic center of China, this city is also developing into a major sporting venue worldwide with its first Formula 1 race this year, where the BMW WilliamsF1 team will be involved. For BMW, Shanghai has evolved to one of the most important regional markets in China, which will play a key role in the future development of BMW in China."

One player sure to attract strong support from the galleries at the first BMW Asian Open in Shanghai is China's top-rated professional, Zhang Lian-wei. Zhang made history in January 2003 when he became the first Chinese golfer to win an event on the European Tour international schedule, taking the Singapore Masters 2003 title from the favorite Ernie Els. Zhang has played in numerous European Tour events, his best previous finish being fifth in the 2000 Malaysian Open. Zhang is also no stranger to success in China, having won the Macau Open in 2001 and successfully defended his title the following year, holding off a strong challenge from three-time Major winner Nick Price to win at the fifth play-off hole.

Padraig Harrington will be looking to continue his history of success in the BMW Asian Open and in Asian competition, having won both the Hong Kong Open 2003 and the BMW Asian Open 2002 in Taiwan. His impressive career includes a victory for Ireland at the World Cup of Golf in 1997 and being a member of the successful European Ryder Cup Team in 2002. He was also a member of the Ryder Cup squad in 1999. Harrington finished tied 10th at the US Open in 2003 and tied 5th at the 2002 Masters and British Open. In 2001 and 2002 Padraig finished second on the European Tour Order of Merit and third in 2003. His highest world ranking to date is no. 6, and he is currently ranked no. 11.

Greg Norman, the legendary Great White Shark, will also be appearing at the BMW Asian Open in 2004. Norman was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001 and was the first to surpass $10 million in career earnings. But his crowning achievements are British Open Championships in 1986 and 1993. The first came at Turnberry in Scotland, where he shot a tournament-record-tying 63 en route to a five-shot victory over Gordon Brand. The second was at Royal St. George's, where Norman trailed by one stroke entering the final round and closed with a 64 to defeat Nick Faldo by two. In total, Norman has won 86 professional events around the world, including 20 U.S. PGA Tour titles. He also has 29 top-10 finishes in majors. He held the World No. 1 ranking for an astounding 331 weeks and is the only golfer sit atop the money standings on both sides of the Atlantic - winning the European Tour Order of Merit in 1982 and topping the U.S. PGA Tour money list in 1986, 1990 and 1995.

John Daly is a former BMW International Open winner, winning the event in 2001. His achievements include winning the 1995 British Open and the 1991 US PGA Championship. Recent seasons have seen Daly storming back to form after his victory at the BMW International Open in 2001. He won twice in consecutive events in 2003, at the Pebble Beach Invitational (his first win in the USA for nine years) and the Korea Open. Known as one of the game's true power hitters, Daly won his record 11th driving Distance crown with a mark of 306.8 topping his own 2001 best of 306.7.

Alex Cejka wrapped up his first year on the US PGA Tour in style in 2003, ending the season as the second-highest finishing rookie on the money list in 60th behind Ben Curtis (no. 46). Other results included a tied 9th finish in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, where he lost to runner-up David Toms after beating Angel Cabrera and Colin Montgomerie. He also made a breakthrough in the 2003 PGA Championship, finishing in fourth for his first career top-10 at a major championship. 

The 7,200 yard Championship course at Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club will provide a challenge for each of these players. The Golf Club is one of Asia's best with world-class facilities situated on 1.4 million square metres of land.