BMW Asian Open 2004 to tee up in Shanghai

Shanghai - For the first time in its three-year history, the BMW Asian
Open will tee up in Mainland China at the Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf
Club from 13 to 16 May 2004. Tournament organisers BMW Group have
already confirmed that five star players will be among the field:
Padraig Harrington, Greg Norman, John Daly, Alex Cejka and China's
top-ranked golfer Zhang Lian-wei. Both Harrington and Daly are
previous BMW tournament winners. With its US$1.5 million prize purse,
the BMW Asian Open will be China's highest prize money golf event of
the season. The BMW Asian Open is joint-sanctioned by the China Golf
Association and the PGA European Tour. The PGA European Tour will be
represented with 66 players. A further 66 players will come from the
Asian region along with 16 players from the China Golf Association and
8 BMW sponsor invites. The BMW Asian Open Pro-Am will be played on 12
May 2004. Mr. Ulrich Thum, Managing Director, BMW Group Greater
China said, 'BMW is excited to be bringing some of the best
professional golfers to China with the historic first playing of the
BMW Asian Open in Shanghai. With its blend of performance and style,
world-class golf shares many similarities with the world-class
automotive engineering of BMW.' On the decision to hold the event in
Shanghai, Mr. Franz Jung, Senior Vice President, BMW Brilliance
Automotive Ltd. said, 'Among the many dynamic cities in China, Shanghai
stands out for many reasons. Not only is it the financial and economic
center of China, this city is also developing into a major sporting
venue worldwide with its first Formula 1 race this year, where the BMW
WilliamsF1 team will be involved. For BMW, Shanghai has evolved to one
of the most important regional markets in China, which will play a key
role in the future development of BMW in China.' One player sure to
attract strong support from the galleries at the first BMW Asian Open
in Shanghai is China's top-rated professional, Zhang Lian-wei. Zhang
made history in January 2003 when he became the first Chinese golfer to
win an event on the European Tour international schedule, taking the
Singapore Masters 2003 title from the favorite Ernie Els. Zhang has
played in numerous European Tour events, his best previous finish being
fifth in the 2000 Malaysian Open. Zhang is also no stranger to success
in China, having won the Macau Open in 2001 and successfully defended
his title the following year, holding off a strong challenge from
three-time Major winner Nick Price to win at the fifth play-off hole.
Padraig Harrington will be looking to continue his history of success in
the BMW Asian Open and in Asian competition, having won both the Hong
Kong Open 2003 and the BMW Asian Open 2002 in Taiwan. His impressive
career includes a victory for Ireland at the World Cup of Golf in 1997
and being a member of the successful European Ryder Cup Team in 2002.
He was also a member of the Ryder Cup squad in 1999. Harrington
finished tied 10th at the US Open in 2003 and tied 5th at the 2002
Masters and British Open. In 2001 and 2002 Padraig finished second on
the European Tour Order of Merit and third in 2003. His highest world
ranking to date is no. 6, and he is currently ranked no. 11. Greg
Norman, the legendary Great White Shark, will also be appearing at the
BMW Asian Open in 2004. Norman was inducted into the World Golf Hall of
Fame in 2001 and was the first to surpass $10 million in career
earnings. But his crowning achievements are British Open Championships
in 1986 and 1993. The first came at Turnberry in Scotland, where he shot
a tournament-record-tying 63 en route to a five-shot victory over Gordon
Brand. The second was at Royal St. George's, where Norman trailed by one
stroke entering the final round and closed with a 64 to defeat Nick
Faldo by two. In total, Norman has won 86 professional events around the
world, including 20 U.S. PGA Tour titles. He also has 29 top-10 finishes
in majors. He held the World No. 1 ranking for an astounding 331 weeks
and is the only golfer sit atop the money standings on both sides of the
Atlantic, winning the European Tour Order of Merit in 1982 and topping
the U.S. PGA Tour money list in 1986, 1990 and 1995. John Daly is a
former BMW International Open winner, winning the event in 2001. His
achievements include winning the 1995 British Open and the 1991 US PGA
Championship. Recent seasons have seen Daly storming back to form after
his victory at the BMW International Open in 2001. He won twice in
consecutive events in 2003, at the Pebble Beach Invitational (his first
win in the USA for nine years) and the Korea Open. Known as one of the
game's true power hitters, Daly won his record 11th driving Distance
crown with a mark of 306.8 topping his own 2001 best of 306.7. Alex
Cejka wrapped up his first year on the US PGA Tour in style in 2003,
ending the season as the second-highest finishing rookie on the money
list in 60th behind Ben Curtis (no. 46). Other results included a tied
9th finish in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, where he lost
to runner-up David Toms after beating Angel Cabrera and Colin
Montgomerie. He also made a breakthrough in the 2003 PGA Championship,
finishing in fourth for his first career top-10 at a major
championship. The 7,200 yard Championship course at Tomson Shanghai
Pudong Golf Club will provide a challenge for each of these players.
The Golf Club is one of Asia's best with world-class facilities
situated on 1.4 million square metres of land. BMW and Golf BMW
Group started its association with the golf sport back in 1985. The
company herewith confirmed the growing importance of the international
golf sport by being the organizer of professional and amateur
tournaments. With over 35 countries and over 100.000 players the BMW
Golf Cup International has grown into one of the world's biggest
amateur golf competitions. The BMW International Open in Munich will
take place for the 16th time this year and has definitely developed
into one of the most important tournaments on the European Tour. Having
established this tournament as a premium annual event, BMW launched the
BMW Asian Open in 2001. The first two tournaments were held in Taiwan
while this year's competition will take place in Shanghai, China. In
addition to these tournaments BMW is supporting the BMW Russian Open
taking place every year in Moscow, the Heineken Classic in
Melbourne/Australia and the Dubai Dessert Classic.