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**truebluefan** · 03-09-2008, 10:24 PM

Discuss event in here.

**truebluefan** · 04-24-2008, 09:04 PM

Henrik Stenson has one eye on the European Ryder Cup team as he looks to pick up more crucial points at the BMW Asian Open this week.

The Swede enjoyed his most successful season to date in 2007 when victories at the WGC-Accenture Match Play and Dubai Desert Classic helped him to a career-best fourth place on European Tour Order of Merit.

A fine start to the current season had seen him climb to the top of the European Tour Order of Merit until Trevor Immelman's success at the Masters -- where Stenson finished 17th -- which has put the South African in pole position.

Stenson is currently third on the world list for Ryder Cup qualification; comfortably inside the top five that will secure a place on the European team come Aug. 31.

In 2006 Stenson capped a fine Ryder Cup debut when he holed the decisive putt to ensure that Europe retained the trophy, and the 32-year-old year-old is hoping he will once again have the chance to play in the 2008 event.

"It has been a great start," Stenson said. "I wanted to try to make sure I started strongly again and I have had a couple of second-place finishes and a top 10 and I played really well at the match play and then at the Masters the other week.

"Obviously, it is a big year this year as it is Ryder Cup year," he added. "I really enjoyed my experience in Ireland -- that is definitely one of, it not the highlight of the year for me and I'm trying my hardest to get my points up and make sure I am on that team again."

Despite three top-three finishes this season, Stenson is still looking for his first victory of the year.

He is one of the favorites to lift the BMW Asian Open trophy this week, but his task will not be easy with the likes of two-time U.S. Open winner Retief Goosen and defending champion Raphael Jacquelin also in attendance.

Stenson has yet to win the tournament, though he came close two years ago when he lost out in a playoff to Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.

"My game is moving in the right direction, but it is either your week or it is not," he said. "All you can do is try and give yourself a chance and I hope I can come into the back nine on Sunday and be in the mix.

"Obviously you would rather be five ahead than two behind, but if you play well enough to be up there then you have always got a chance on the final day."

Jacquelin, meanwhile, is hoping he can make a successful defense of his title in order to improve his place in the world rankings. The Frenchman, who is playing only his second tournament after a month away from the game for personal reasons, is currently 114th in the world.

"My goals are the same goals as the last five years," he said. "That is to get in the top 50 in the world. "I am over 100 at the moment so it is not very good, but we all know you can jump with one good result."

**truebluefan** · 04-24-2008, 09:05 PM

As one of the strongest supporters of the development of golf in China, Dubai-based Emirates Airline today announced its sponsorship of the BMW Asian Open 2008, for the fifth consecutive year.

This year also marks Emirates’ fifth anniversary of its services to Shanghai, its first destination on mainland China. Emirates will once again be the Official Airline to the BMW Asian Open, the first-ever tri-sanctioned - Chinese Golf Association, Asian Tour and European Tour - event in China, which will be held from April 24th to 27th at the Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club.

With a prize purse of US$2.3 million, the tournament has attracted a stellar line-up of world-class golfers, including Majors champions Retief Goosen, Michael Campbell and Greg Norman; Dubai-based Henrik Stenson, winner of this tournament in 2006; European ace Miguel Angel Jiménez and defending champion Raphaël Jacquelin. Chinese hero Wen-chong Zhang and China’s golfing trailblazer Lian-wei Zhang are looking forward to competing against the world’s best players in front of their home crowd.

The Emirates Spectator Charity Hole-in-One Challenge has become a traditional part of the BMW Asian Open, with proceeds from the competition being donated to Project Hope, a social non-profit charity that seeks to help school dropouts.

During the Pro-Am tournament on 23rd April, Emirates will be sponsoring the Pro-Am Charity Closest to the Pin Challenge, donations to Project Hope automatically qualify amateur golfers to win one Emirates Business Class return ticket to Dubai. Emirates will be offering a number of their VIP guests the chance to play with some of the world’s leading golfers during the Pro-Am.

Emirates will again host two private golf clinics for its key customers and partners as well as the international school children – an excellent opportunity for amateurs and young golf enthusiasts to gain knowledge and application of proper techniques from renowned golfers.

Edwin Lau, Emirates’ Vice President, Greater China, said: “It is a great pleasure to once again support the BMW Asian Open for what will be the fifth consecutive year; this is also the year that we are celebrating five years since Emirates began flying to China, with our non-stop Dubai to Shanghai route.

“The BMW Asian Open helps us to support the community of Shanghai and China, one of our most dynamic markets. In addition to our double daily service to Shanghai, Emirates serves China with a double daily flight to Beijing and as from 1st July we will begin non-stop services to Guangzhou.”

Emirates has an impressive portfolio of golf sponsorships and is the Official Airline of 10 golf tournaments around the world, which in addition to the BMW Asian Open includes: Dubai Desert Classic, Dubai Ladies Masters, Malaysian Open, Hong Kong Open, BMW International Open, Austrian Open, Volvo Masters of Asia, Hero Honda Open and the Australian PGA Championship. Emirates also sponsors a diversity of world-class sport events such as football, tennis, rugby, and horse racing.

**truebluefan** · 04-24-2008, 09:07 PM

Englishman Oliver Wilson carded a round of 68 to join a four-way tie for second place, one shot back after round one of the BMW Asian Open in Shanghai.

The 27-year-old, who finished in a tie for second last week at the China Open, carded five birdies at the Pudong Club.

Australian Peter O'Malley, now 42, who last won on the European Tour in 2001, leads the way at five under.

Darren Clarke had four birdies but also three bogeys to join a huge group including Greg Norman at one under.

Starting on the back nine, Wilson picked up his first birdie on the par-four 11th when he hit a wedge to 10 feet.

He holed the putt and then added another on the par-five 15th to reach the turn at two under.

On his inward nine he added three more birdies and was only denied the lead when he bogeyed his last hole.

"I got a lot of confidence from last week," said Mansfield-born Wilson.

"I played lovely and was really solid. Apart from the last I only had one par save so I gave myself a lot of chances."

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**truebluefan** · 04-26-2008, 08:19 PM

Greg Norman makes a rare return to tournament golf at the BMW Asian Open this week, four years after being disqualified from this event.

Norman, 53, will take on a strong field in the $2.3 million event at Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club, including two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, world No. 13 Henrik Stenson and defending champion Raphael Jacquelin.

It will be the first tournament for Norman -- a two-time British Open champion -- since South Africa late last year, when he finished ahead of the likes of Goosen and Ernie Els.

Norman will be looking to put the 2004 Asian Open behind him. He was among the leaders when he was disqualified in the third round for an incorrect drop.

Norman, who is playing on a sponsor's invitation, said he probably gets more nervous these days when approaching the first tee.

"When you don't play a lot, it's not as routine as it used to be," he said.

Stenson will be looking to reclaim the top ranking in the European Tour Order of Merit after being overtaken by Masters champion Trevor Immelman. The Swede lost this tournament in a playoff in 2006 after being in a strong position during the final round.

Among other players in the European Tour and Asian Tour jointly sanctioned event were Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain, 2005 U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell and Asian Order of Merit leader Mark Brown of New Zealand.

**truebluefan** · 04-26-2008, 08:20 PM

A flawless five-under 67 propelled Digvijay Singh to the tied fifth spot, while Jeev Milkha Singh also recovered lost ground with a blemish-free two-under 70 in the penultimate round of USD 2.3 million BMW Asian Open here on Saturday.

Digvijay, tied 29th overnight, now has a total of three-under 213 -- six strokes off the pace of leader Ireland's Darren Clarke (67).

In his best round of the tournament so far, Digvijay struck back-to-back birdies on the seventh and eighth to make the turn two-under.

He picked up three more shots -- on 10th, 13th and 17th holes -- in the back nine to round off a brilliant performance.

Jeev, on the other hand, lies a shot below Digvijay at tied ninth.

The seasoned campaigner struck a birdie-brace on the first two holes and parred the rest to bounce back after a horrendous 76 in the second round.

SSP Chowrasia (72) is the next best-placed Indian on the leaderboard at the tied 32nd spot with a total of one-over 217.

Shiv Kapur, meanwhile, had another disastrous outing, turning in a two-over 74 to slide to the tied 52nd position with a total of four-over 220.

Meanwhile, overnight leader, The Netherlands' Robert-Jan Derksen took the sole second spot -- a shot behind Clarke -- after carding a 69 in the penultimate round.

Englishman Robert Dinwiddie (66) was third on the leaderboard with seven-under 209.

**truebluefan** · 04-26-2008, 08:21 PM

Ryder Cup stalwart Darren Clarke stormed to the top of the leaderboard with a five-under 67 on day three of the BMW Asian Open on Saturday, setting himself up for a potentially emotional victory.

A birdie on the 18th moved the Northern Irishman to nine under going into the final day of the 2.3-million-dollar tournament, one shot clear of joint second-round leader Robert-Jan Derksen of the Netherlands.

England's Robert Dinwiddie, a 26-year-old rookie on the European Tour, shot a 66 for the lowest round of the tournament and outright third place at seven under.

Taiwan's Lin Wen-tang was the best placed of the Asian contingent after carding a 69 to put himself in fourth position at five under.

Exciting Chinese amateur Hu Mu, who is just 18 years old, shot a 71 and was in a pack of four players in fifth place, six strokes behind Clarke.

For Clarke, a victory on Sunday would be his first title since his wife, Heather, died of cancer in August 2006.

The 39-year-old, a mainstay in Europe's Ryder Cup team since 1997, suffered a form slump following his wife's death and is currently ranked 236 in the world.

"I'm really looking forward to it. It's been a while since I have been very close to the lead," said Clarke, whose last tournament win came in Japan in 2005.

"I just hope I can keep doing what I am doing."

Clarke fired three birdies on the back nine to give himself the outright lead going into the final round of the BMW Asian Open, which is co-sanctioned by the European and Asian tours.

However Clarke said he could have gone even lower on Saturday, pointing to two short missed birdie putts on par fives.

"I would have liked to have shot a lot better. I gave myself enough opportunities, but I am not going to complain... I will settle for a 67," he said.

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**truebluefan** · 04-28-2008, 12:22 PM

A flawless five-under 67 propelled Digvijay Singh to tied fifth spot, while Jeev Milkha Singh also recovered lost ground with a blemish-free two-under 70 in the penultimate round of $2.3 million BMW Asian Open here on Saturday.

Digvijay, tied 29th overnight, now has a total of three-under 213 six strokes off the pace of leader Ireland’s Darren Clarke (67).

In his best round of the tournament so far, Digvijay struck back-to-back birdies on the seventh and eighth to make the turn two-under.

He picked up three more shots — on the 10th, 13th and 17th holes — in the back nine to round off a brilliant performance.

Jeev, on the other hand, lies a shot below Digvijay at tied ninth. S.S.P. Chowrasia (72) is the next best-placed Indian on the leaderboard at tied 32nd with a total of one-over 217.

**truebluefan** · 04-28-2008, 12:23 PM

Henrik Stenson has moved back into second spot in the European Ryder Cup standings following his sixth-place finish at the BMW Asian Open in China.

World number 13 Stenson carded a final-round 68 to finish four strokes adrift of winner Darren Clarke.

The top 10 - who would earn automatic spots - as things stand are Lee Westwood, Stenson, Justin Rose, Padraig Harrington, Daniel Chopra, Graeme McDowell, Robert Karlsson, Nick Dougherty, Martin Kaymer and Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Captain Nick Faldo then adds two wild cards.

**truebluefan** · 04-28-2008, 12:24 PM

Darren Clarke sank a huge birdie putt on the final hole to win the BMW Asian Open here on Sunday for a highly emotional victory that he dedicated to his sons following the death of their mother.

The Northern Irishman pumped both fists into the air in triumph and embraced his caddie after his putt of around 30 feet on the 18th hole gave him a one shot victory over playing partner Robert-Jan Derksen of the Netherlands.

It was Clarke's first tournament win since his wife, Heather, died of cancer in August 2006.

"It was always going to be a difficult hurdle for me to get back into the winner's enclosure after Heather passed away... It's a big mental hurdle that I have crossed today," the 39-year-old said.

Clarke carded a one-over 73 to finish the tournament at eight under, while Derksen also shot a 73 following a dramatic final few holes in which the Ulsterman gave up a two-stroke cushion as his thoughts drifted to his family.

Italian Francesco Molinari, Taiwan's Lin Wen-tang and English rookie Robert Dinwiddie were tied for third place at five under in the 2.3-million-dollar tournament, which is co-sanctioned by the European and Asian tours.

Sweden's world number 13 Henrik Stenson, the highest ranked player in the tournament, finished in outright sixth place at four under after a strong final round of 68.

Clarke's victory, which earned him 383,000 dollars, was his first win on the European Tour since 2003 and his 11th in total.

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