Johnnie Walker Classic Preview

Miguel Angel Jimenez looks to defend his Johnnie Walker Classic title against an impressive field that includes Ernie Els and Retief Goosen.

jimenez_johnnie_walker.jpgThe Johnnie Walker Classic will visit mainland China for the first time this week, as Ernie Els and Retief Goosen lead an impressive field.

Goosen is the current leader of The European Tour Order of Merit and World Number Five. He looks to continue his success after a third place finish at the Masters two weeks ago. Els on the otherhand, looks to regain some of his success from earlier in the year when he had back-to-back wins in Dubai and Qatar.

Other players joining Els and Goosen include Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Luke Donald and defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez. Donald is looking to continue his good play as of late, finishing tied for third (with Goosen) at his first trip to the Masters in Augusta, Georgia.

The Johnnie Walker Classic is one of the more popular events on the European Tour and usually draws quite a crowd of talented players. Past winners include Els, who has one two titles (in 1997 and 2003), Nick Faldo (1990 and 1993), Greg Norman (1995), Fred Couples (1996), and Tiger Woods who won Classic in 1998 and 2001.

The weather forecast for the tournament is said to be “hot and humid”, which is an unfamiliar climate for the European Tour players. That doesn’t bother defending champion Jimenez, who likes to play in Asia, as he prefers the climate to rain or cold weather.

Jimenez fended off Thomas Bjorn last year to win the Johnnie Walker and might have to do the same if Bjorn plays as well as he did for three rounds at Augusta. Jimenez has one once this year already on the European Tour (winning in Hong Kong) and has followed that victory up with two top tens in three events this season.

Other players set to battle for the trophy are Paul Casey, Paul Lawrie, Colin Montgomerie, Trevor Immelman, Michael Campbell, Thongchai Jaidee and Thaworn Writchant. The latter two have already claimed European Tour victories in 2005.

Casey, who was quoted criticizing American supporters after the 2004 Ryder Cup, has been under scrutiny everytime he’s teed it up this year, but on his first visit to China (last month) he managed to quiet the critiques and win the TLC Classic on Hainan Island.

This year’s event is being held at the Pine Valley Golf Resort and Country Club. The course is located about an hour away from Beijing, faces the Great Wall of China and was designed by Jack Nicklaus.

Television coverage will be airing on The Golf Channel (where else?):

Thu (4/21)       9:00 am - 1:00 pm ET       TGC
Fri (4/22)       1:30 am - 5:30 am ET       TGC
Sat (4/23)       1:30 am - 5:30 am ET       TGC
Sun (4/24)       1:30 am - 5:30 am ET       TGC

Photo Credit: © Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

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