BMW Masters: Four BMW title-holders home in on the “double”. World number one McIlroy, Donald, Willett and Fernandez-Castaño – reigning BMW tournament winners – set their sights on their second BMW title this year in Shanghai.

Shanghai/Munich. The strongest field assembled in Asia this year will be out to get its hands on the prestigious title when the BMW Masters makes its debut from 25th to 28th October 2012. Four of the top five players in the current world rankings will be in action at Lake Malaren Golf Club, along with all but one of the victorious European Ryder Cup team, including captain José María Olazábal. Among this world-class field are four pros who are not only playing for the winner’s cheque of 1.16 million US dollars (total prize purse: 7 million), but also the “double” – two BMW tournament wins in one season.

All the 2012 BMW title-holders will tee off in Shanghai: Rory McIlroy (BMW Championship, PGA TOUR), Luke Donald (BMW PGA Championship, European Tour), Danny Willett (BMW International Open, European Tour) and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño (BMW Italian Open, European Tour). They are all looking to emulate Spain’s Miguel Ángel Jiménez, the only player to date to have won two BMW tournaments in one season. In 2004 “The Mechanic” triumphed at both the BMW International Open and the BMW Asian Open, the forerunner of the BMW Masters. Jiménez himself will also line up in Shanghai.

World number one McIlroy emphatically demonstrated his ability to win a tournament packed with world-class players at the recent BMW Championship, the penultimate tournament of the PGA TOUR Playoffs. The Northern Irishman underlined his exceptional form in Carmel, in the US state of Indiana, with his third top-class tournament win in a matter of weeks. Donald, currently number three in the world, also celebrated a magnificent victory earlier this year at the BMW PGA Championship in Wentworth. The Englishman produced a dominant display at the European Tour’s flagship event to defend the title he won last year.

One month later, Donald’s younger compatriot Danny Willett celebrated his maiden victory at the BMW International Open, which was held in Cologne for the first time this year. Willett was required to show a combination of patience and stamina to claim his first European Tour win – it took the 24-year-old until the fourth play-off hole to see off the challenge of Australia’s Marcus Fraser.

Fernandez-Castaño is the only member of the quartet to have already won a BMW tournament in Shanghai: the 2006 BMW Asian Open. Six years later he showed nerves of steel to pick up his second BMW title at September’s BMW Italian Open.

None of the four pros are expecting to simply turn up and complete the “double” on the Jack Nicklaus-designed championship course at Lake Malaren Golf Club. The 78 players represent the strongest field on display at any tournament in Asia this year. McIlroy and Donald will be joined by another two pros from the top five in the world rankings, in the form of Lee Westwood and Justin Rose, whose extraordinary class was on display for all to see at the recent Ryder Cup.

As well as the other members of the heroic European Ryder Cup team, Martin Kaymer, Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell, Nicolas Colsaerts, Peter Hanson, Francesco Molinari and Paul Lawrie, two South Africans, who were not eligible to play in the intercontinental competition between Europe and the USA, also have their sights set on the BMW Masters title: Major-winners Louis Oosthuizen (2010 Open Championship) and Charl Schwartzel (2011 Masters Tournament). The same goes for Ireland’s four-time Ryder Cup winner Pádraig Harrington, who won three Majors in 2007 and 2008.

You have to go a little further back in time to find John Daly’s biggest triumphs: the American won his Majors in 1991 (US PGA Championship) and 1995 (Open Championship). The spectator magnet and crowd favourite won the BMW International Open in 2001. The flamboyant character is certain to thrill fans in Asia at the BMW Masters with his colourful trousers and mighty swing.

Alongside BMW Brand Ambassador Kaymer, the second German in the field is Marcel Siem. The 32-year-old is enjoying the best season of his career, the highlight of which was his victory at the prestigious and iconic Open de France in July. However, Siem has a score to settle in Shanghai: he was in contention right down to the final hole of this year’s BMW International Open. Siem is keen to make amends for narrowly missing out on his first BMW title – ideally at the BMW Masters.