Two-time Major Champion Bubba Watson will return to China for the first time since winning last year’s WGC-HSBC Champions when he headlines the field in the inaugural Shenzhen International.
The World Number Two, who won the Masters Tournament in both 2012 and 2014, will be aiming to secure consecutive victories on Chinese soil when he tees up in the US$2.5 million tournament from April 16-19 – one week after he seeks to win a third Green Jacket at Augusta National.
Watson won the 2014 WGC-HSBC Champions title in Shanghai in spectacular fashion last November, holing a bunker shot on the 72nd hole to force a play-off with Tim Clark, which he won courtesy of a birdie on the first extra hole.
Five months on, the American will make his first appearance in a regular European Tour event for four years at the Shenzhen International, which takes place on the Neil Haworth-designed course at Genzon Golf Club, in the Longgang district of Shenzhen.
Watson said: “This is a great opportunity for me to come back to China and play in a new event, which will make a big contribution to the development of golf in southern China. I’m looking forward to coming to Shenzhen next month and playing my part in making some history.
“I finished third in the WGC Cadillac Championship and my season’s got off to a pretty solid start overall, but I’m still looking for my first win in 2015. I’ll be doing my best to make it a hat-trick of wins at the Masters, but back-to-back victories in China would be pretty special too.”
Watson has four victories on the US PGA Tour, in addition to his wins in the Masters Tournament and the WGC-HSBC Champions. His last appearance in a regular European Tour event came in the 2011 Nordea Masters, where he finished in a tie for sixth place behind Alex Noren.
Fei Hai-long, General Manager of Genzon Golf Club, said: “At the launch of this tournament we made a promise that the first edition of the Shenzhen International would feature world-class players, and we have kept that promise. A two-time Masters champion and now ranked second in the world, Bubba Watson is not only a world-class golfer but someone whose appeal transcends the sport.
“With his impressive driving distances, extraordinary charisma and legions of fans around the world, Bubba’s participation in the tournament sends a very strong message to the international golfing community about just how serious we are about establishing the Shenzhen International as one of the region’s leading elite golf tournaments. Additionally, his presence at the Shenzhen International will enable golf fans in Shenzhen, Guangdong and throughout China to witness his remarkable skills first hand, so we look forward to his arrival in Shenzhen.
“The Shenzhen International is a tournament named after its host city. One of our aims for this event is to promote the city and showcase both the growth of Shenzhen over the last 30 years and the role it plays as a window to the world in southern China. To have a star of Bubba Watson’s calibre coming to our tournament will undoubtedly echo throughout China’s golf industry, and draw attention to the city and its status as a world-class golf destination.”
The field for the Shenzhen International will comprise 100 players from The European Tour, 50 players from the CGA (China Golf Association) and six sponsors’ invitations.
The tournament, which will be promoted by IMG, is the first of four events being held in China on The 2015 European Tour International Schedule.
