test2wa

European Tour

Reigning European Tour number one Robert Karlsson of Sweden will take centre stage at next week's US$5 million Barclays Singapore Open.

An all-star cast of winners from the past three seasons will also be present.

The European Tour is sanctioning the tournament for the first time with the Asian Tour, leading to an avalanche of entries from players keen to improve their standing on the Race to Dubai.

The Euro express will roll into Sentosa Golf Club packed full of winners from 2007-2009 such is the strength of the field, which features Major champions Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els, Geoff Ogilvy and Michael Campbell.

World number two Mickelson won the WGC-CA Championship and Ogilvy took the WGC-Accenture Match Play this year, both of which count to the European Tour rankings.

Karlsson and 2007 Order of Merit number one Justin Rose will be joined by Asian specialist Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain and South Africa's Richard Sterne and Thai ace Thongchai Jaidee, both two-time winners on the European Tour this season.

Former Asian Tour star James Kingston of South Africa, who won the Mercedes-Benz Championship in September, highly rated New Zealander Danny Lee, victorious in this year's Johnnie Walker Classic as an amateur, and 2009 BMW International Open champion Nick Dougherty of England are also in the field of dreams along with Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei, the winner of the 2008 UBS Hong Kong Open which was part of the current season.

American Anthony Kang, who lifted the Malaysian Open earlier in the year, Spain's Alvaro Quiros, Shane Lowry of Ireland, Argentine Daniel Vancsik, Danes Soren Kjeldsen, Anders Hansen and Jeppe Huldahl, Swedes Peter Hedblom, Oskar Henningsson and Alexander Noren and Frenchmen Thomas Levet and Christian Cevaer are other winners from the 2009 schedule in the line up.

Karlsson will be keen to get back on track in the Barclays Singapore Open from October 29-November 1 after four months out of the game with an eye problem. He returned to defend his crown at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship earlier this month but missed the cut.

The colourful Jimenez starts with an advantage as he has won four European Tour events played in Asia and loves competing in the region.

Thongchai is seeking a hat-trick of titles for the first time in a season and a win over The Serapong Course would see him tie up the Asian Tour's Order of Merit for a record third time and jump back into the money-spinning top-15 in the Race to Dubai.

"I've not won three tournaments in a year before, but this year I have a very good chance (of achieving that goal)," said Thongchai, who lifted the Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open and the Ballantine's Championship in Korea earlier in the year.

Dougherty has fond memories of Singapore having won the first of his three European Tour titles, the Singapore Masters, in the Lion City in 2005.

Established players and rookies alike will be gunning to join the European Tour winners in the elite field during the two-day qualifying competition on Sunday and Monday.

Five places will be up for grabs on both days of the qualifiers, which will be played over 18 holes at Sentosa Golf Club's Tanjong Course.