October 5, 2011, Hong Kong - Justin Rose will hope to add a European Tour title to his success in America this season when he joins a world-class field in the UBS Hong Kong Open from December 1-4.
Rose recently captured his third US PGA Tour title in the past two seasons with a wire-to-wire victory in the BMW Championship but has to go back to 2007 for the last of his four European Tour wins, which came at the Volvo Masters.
The 31 year old Englishman will be hoping to change that at Hong Kong Golf Club where he will make his debut in the $2,750,000 UBS Hong Kong Open won last year by his close friend Ian Poulter.
“I’m looking forward to being part of what is shaping up to be a tremendous field for the UBS Hong Kong Open,” said Rose. “I know there was a great atmosphere when Ian won there last year and I cannot wait to be part of it.
“My recent win in the United States gave me a lot of confidence going into the final part of 2011 and it would be great to round the year off with a victory in Hong Kong and win another European Tour title.”
World Number 17 Rose is one of seven big-name players who have today confirmed their participation in the UBS Hong Kong Open. Joining the Englishman will be Miguel Angel Jimenez, Ross Fisher, Edoardo Molinari and Peter Hanson, four of the victorious 2010 European Ryder Cup Team, as well as the big-hitting Alvaro Quiros of Spain, who won the Omega Dubai Desert Classic earlier this season.
Also heading to Hong Kong is Korea’s YE Yang, who became the first Asian to win a Major Championship when he held off Tiger Woods down the stretch to win the US PGA Championship at Hazeltine National in 2009.
Yang will be looking to become only the second Asian player to win the UBS Hong Kong Open since it became co-sanctioned by The European Tour and Asian Tour in 2002, following in the footsteps of Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei who triumphed in 2008.
Kathryn Shih, CEO, UBS Wealth Management, Asia Pacific, said: "Since becoming title sponsor of the Hong Kong Open in 2005, UBS is proud to have helped increase the profile of this historic tournament. The addition of Justin Rose and YE Yang to a field that already features Ian Poulter, Rory McIlroy and Matteo Manassero, promises to ensure that this year’s UBS Hong Kong Open will be among the most competitive ever staged."
Lin held-off Rory McIlroy in a play-off to win the title that year and McIlroy is one of the players already confirmed to return to the UBS Hong Kong Open for the penultimate event of The 2011 European Tour International Schedule.
The generous support of the Mega Events Fund for the 2011 edition of this historic Championship has helped enable the UBS Hong Kong Open to attract an extremely strong field of players and will also support a programme of initiatives to promote the Tournament and Hong Kong as a destination.
The Hon Jeffrey Lam, Chairman of the Mega Events Fund Assessment Committee said: “The Mega Events Fund (MEF) is pleased to support the UBS Hong Kong Open and glad to see the gathering of world-class players in this international golf tournament. I am confident that with the concerted efforts of participating parties, this event not only adds colour and vibrancy to our city, but also enriches the travel experience of visitors from all over the world and raises the profile of Hong Kong globally.”