Setting the Stage

Rory's back, along with a sprinkling of his Ryder Cup cohorts. But the world number one, a definite fan favourite at Fanling, won't have things all his way with Matt Kuchar, Padraig Harrington and a host of European and Asian Tour stars also gunning for victory

Two-time winner Miguel Angel Jiménez

McIlroy returns then with his game in rude health, what with that eight-stroke victory at the US PGA (matching his eight-stroke win at the US Open the year before), three other tournament victories, and the sound of champagne corks still popping in his ears after that stunning Ryder Cup success.

McIlroy is trying to become the first back-to-back winner of the Hong Kong Open since Hsieh Yong Yo of Taiwan made it two in a row in 1964. And while any threat to his reign is sure to have organisers peeping meekly between their fingers, the main challenge is expected to come from a man who was part of that historic Ryder Cup competition – and who must still be asking himself “How?” 2001 HK Open champion José María Olazábal

World number 13 Matt Kuchar was on the losing side at Medinah but took two points out of a possible three for the Americans and he arrives in the city for the first time following a season that has seen the 34-year-old, four-time PGA Tour winner chart a course from the sublime (a two-stroke victory at The Players Championship) to the slightly ridiculous (victory at last month’s hit-and-giggle Mission Hills World Celebrity Pro-Am).

“The strength of the field is impressive and Rory’s record in the tournament is even more impressive, so it’s going to be tough to win my first European Tour title but I’m certainly going to give it my best shot,” said Kuchar.

Adding to the Ryder Cup flavour at Fanling this year will be the victorious captain José María Olazábal – a winner here in 2001 – along with European team member Paul Laurie and vice-captain Miguel Angel Jiménez. Jiménez, a Fanling winner in 2004 and 2007, never fails to find himself in the mix in Hong Kong – on the course and off – and another former champion in Ireland’s Padraig Harrington (2004) returns with the three-time major winner looking to build on a return to form over a past year that has seen him in contention at both the Masters (where he finished tied for eighth) and the US Open (tied for fourth).

Other big name signings for the 2012 edition include John Daly, who certainly enjoys the Composite Course at Fanling – he shot a brilliant final-round 62 there in 2008 – as well as a cast of the European and Asian Tour's leading lights.

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