By Will Pearson, europeantour.com
at Lake Malaren
Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño will launch his defence of the BMW Masters alongside Scotland’s Marc Warren and Italian Matteo Manassero when play gets under way in the second edition of The Race to Dubai Final Series on Thursday morning.
Despite a nerve-wracking double bogey finish, Fernandez-Castaño held on to win by one shot at Lake Malaren Golf Club in Shanghai 12 months ago and with it captured a third BMW-sponsored victory following previous triumphs at the 2006 BMW Asian Open and the 2012 BMW Italian Open.
One year on, the Madrid native is back on the east coast of China as the climax to the 2014 season begins in earnest with the return of the Final Series, which debuted in 2013, and the 34 year old has Manassero – himself a BMW winner after claiming the PGA Championship at Wentworth Club last season – and Warren for company from 10.00 local time on Thursday.
There are seven members of the victorious 2014 Ryder Cup side in attendance in Shanghai this week and, unsurprisingly given their star billing following an enthralling encounter at Gleneagles last month, a number of the European team have found themselves thrust together once more for the opening two rounds at Lake Malaren.
Jamie Donaldson, the man who seized the winning point for Paul McGinley’s side in Scotland in September, is the highest ranked player in The Race to Dubai in Shanghai this week at fourth and the Welshman will be looking to make up ground in the absence of the trio above him in Messrs Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson.
Teeing it up at 09.40 from the tenth tee, Donaldson plays the first two rounds alongside Ryder Cup compadre Stephen Gallacher and Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee, who finished joint runner-up here in 2013.
Elsewhere, enigmatic Frenchman Victor Dubuisson hits the Jack Nicklaus-designed Masters course with Englishman and European team-mate Ian Poulter at 10.40 in a three-ball completed by Dutchman Joost Luiten, while seasoned campaigner Thomas Bjørn has Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell and American debutant Chris Kirk for company in the last group out at 10.50.
The seventh member from the Glory of Gleneagles, Justin Rose, tees off at 09.50 in a group also consisting of four-time Major winner Ernie Els and Finland’s Mikko Ilonen.
Looking to continue the fine form which yielded a second European Tour title down under last week, Denmark’s Thorbjørn Olesen is off at 10.30 with American Ryan Palmer and Ireland’s Shane Lowry.
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