Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Clarke and Yang head Ballantines event field
(Reuters) - Major winners Darren Clarke and Yang Yong-eun will head a quality field at next month's Ballantines Championship in Seoul, organisers said on Wednesday.
Clarke faces stiff competition from local favourite Yang, world number eight Adam Scott and American Dustin Johnson among others at the Blackstone Golf Club in Seoul from April 26-29.
Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland chips onto a green during a practice round for the WGC-Accenture Matchplay Championships golf tournament in Marana, Arizona, February 20, 2012. REUTERS/Matt SullivanBritish Open champion Clarke said he was excited to take his prized Claret Jug to a new part of the world.
"(It) has been travelling around the world a lot with me," said the Northern Irishman, who captured his first major title at Royal St George's last July.
"It will be great to take it to another place that hasn't seen it before.
"I have heard a lot of good things about the course at Blackstone," added Clarke, looking to add to his success at the 2008 Asian Open at the fifth edition of the Ballantines event.
"It is tough but fair, with a lot of risk and reward so you've got to think a little bit and figure out your way around it, which I will look forward to."
Johnson lurks as a threat, having finished fourth at Blackstone last year, as do 2011 runner-up Miguel Angel Jimenez and his European Ryder Cup team mate Ian Poulter.
Yang, who became the first Asian to win a major title at the 2009 PGA Championship, where he held off a charging Tiger Woods, will hope for more joy on home turf this year.
The 40-year-old, who can rely on home support, has missed the cut in the past two Ballantines Championships.
(Reporting by Alastair Himmer; Editing by Clare Fallon)
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