2012 European Ryder Cup Captain José Maria Olazábal will join his Spanish compatriots Miguel Angel Jiménez and Sergio Garcia at the inaugural Volvo Golf Champions at the Royal Golf Club in Bahrain from January 27-30.
Englishman Paul Casey and Major Champions Padraig Harrington and Todd Hamilton have also confirmed their place in the field of the €1.7million event, the second of four tournaments in The European Tour’s ‘Desert Swing’.
Olazabal said: “These are incredibly exciting times for European golf and for The European Tour, along with its long-term partner Volvo and IMG to put together a brand new event in the Middle East at a time when the sponsorship market is very tough indeed is clear evidence that our golf circuit is in great shape, on and off the golf course.”
Garcia is hoping for some early season form after slipping down the Official World Golf Ranking in 2010.
He said: “Last year was a strange season for me, a lean one by my own standards, but the extended break I have taken has refreshed me and my enthusiasm for the game all over again. I've come close in the Volvo Masters, runner-up three times in a row, and given that a Volvo-sponsored event has quality assured on and off the golf course, I'm looking forward to testing my game against some of the best players on the Tour.”
Jiménez, who won three times in 2010 and was part of the victorious European Ryder Cup Team, added: “A season-opening event celebrating the champions from the previous year is a very welcome addition to the European Tour and I am looking forward very much to playing in the Volvo Golf Champions in Bahrain next week.”
A world class field will be pitting their wits against the Montgomerie course, designed by the man who guided Europe to victory at The Celtic Manor Resort last October, with Englishman Ian Poulter, Italian brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari, European Tour Rookie of the Year Matteo Manassero and Robert Karlsson, winner of the Dubai World Championship presented by DP World all having confirmed their places.
Per Ericsson, President of Volvo Event Management – Golf, said: The reception the Volvo Golf Champions has received from the European Tour players has been a huge vote of confidence and to have the outgoing and incoming Ryder Cup Captains and the winners of more than 300 European Tour – including eight Majors - and the winners of 27 US PGA Tour titles already committed confirms the quality of European golf and how highly regarded this special first edition of the tournament is being viewed.”
