Ernie Els of South Africa, the new World Number Two after his victory in the World Golf Championships – American Express Championship in Ireland, seeks a record-breaking sixth HSBC World Match Play Championship at Wentworth Club, Surrey, England, from 14-17 October.
Last year, Els beat Denmark's Thomas Bjorn 4 and 3 in the final to emulate the achievements of Gary Player and Seve Ballesteros in winning the title five times. Now Els, the new World Number Two, faces a strong field including World Number One Vijay Singh over the famous West Course.
Singh, the US PGA Champion, is one of three current Major winners in the field, increased this year from 12 to 16 and now officially part of The European Tour International Schedule. In addition to the Fijian, US Open Champion, Retief Goosen of South, and Open Champion, Todd Hamilton of the USA, will take part.
Three of Europe's successful Ryder Cup Team - Miguel Angel Jimenez, Thomas Levet and Lee Westwood - all tee up along with Captain Bernhard Langer of Germany. Langer, twice a finalist, has never won the event.
The draw for the event, which boasts a £1 million first prize, will be confirmed on Monday, October 11. The 16-strong field is:
Angel Cabrera (Argentina)
KJ Choi (Korea)
Scott Drummond (Scotland)
Ernie Els (South Africa)
Steve Flesch (USA)
Retief Goosen (South Africa)
Todd Hamilton (USA)
Miguel Angel Jiménez (Spain)
Bernhard Langer (Germany)
Thomas Levet (France)
Jeff Maggert (USA)
Chris Riley (USA)
Vijay Singh (Fiji)
Scott Verplank (USA) ((tbc)
Mike Weir (Canada)
Lee Westwood (England)
