Yang and DiMarco line up for Ballantine's

Tiger tamer Yang Yong-eun and US PGA Tour ace Chris DiMarco have been added to the stellar field for next month’s history-making Ballantine's Championship.

They will be joined in the €2 million (US$2.9 million) showpiece - the first Asian Tour and European Tour event to be held in Korea - by Ryder Cup stars Thomas Björn and Paul McGinley.

Yang became a national hero in his native Korea when he claimed a stunning victory ahead of world No.1 Tiger Woods in the HSBC Champions in Shanghai 15 months ago.

Now he will be aiming to claim some more notable scalps when the inaugural Ballantine's Championship is staged on March 13-16 at Pinx Golf Club on the picturesque island of Jeju.

The tournament is being headlined by Korean sporting idol and world No.8 Choi Kyung-ju, British Open champion Padraig Harrington of Ireland and World Cup-winning Scot Colin Montgomerie.

Yang, 36, will be hoping for a happy return to Jeju, the island where he was born.

"It's fantastic news for Korean golf that the event is coming to our country for the first time and I'll be going all out to deliver a home victory for the fans," he said.

"The Ballantine's Championship will be particularly special for me as it is being held on Jeju and I'm looking forward to what promises to be a great week."

Yang's astonishing success in Shanghai came when he held off a chasing pack that included Major winners Woods, Retief Goosen and Michael Campbell to win by two shots.

He has won four times on the Japan Golf Tour and has a notable victory on home soil to his name, the Asian Tour's Korea Open in 2006.

American star DiMarco, 39, is a three-time runner-up in the Majors and has a hat-trick of victories on the PGA Tour.

He also won the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship two years ago on his first European Tour start outside the Majors and World Golf Championships.

"I'm delighted to be part of the Ballantine's Championship," said DiMarco. "I've played in Asia before and really enjoyed the experience so I'm very much looking forward to the tournament.

"It's clear the organisers are putting together an extremely strong field and hopefully I'll be up with the leaders on the Sunday challenging for the inaugural title."

Joining Yang and DiMarco as latest additions to the Ballantine's Championship are Björn and McGinley.

Björn has nine European Tour victories to his name, including a thrilling triumph at the Irish Open two years ago when he came from nine shots off the pace after the first round to win.

The Dane is also a two-time Ryder Cup winner, having played for Europe's victorious teams in 1997 and 2002.

Irishman McGinley has the distinction of winning three successive Ryder Cups with Europe - in 2002, when he holed the winning putt, 2004 and 2006 - and has four European Tour successes to his credit.

Other stars confirmed for the Ballantine's Championship include Korean-American sensation Anthony Kim, one of the hottest young talents on the PGA Tour with six top-10 finishes in just 18 months as a professional.

Korean ace Hur Suk-ho, known better as SK Ho, - a nine-time winner in Japan - and Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Liang Wen-chong of China will also be teeing off at Pinx.

The Korea PGA has been allotted 25 places in the 132-strong starting field, meaning rising Korean professionals are being given an unprecedented chance to gain valuable experience on the big stage.

The tournament, promoted by Parallel Media Group, is co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours and the KPGA.

Ballantine's is the title sponsor and has committed to the event for a minimum of three years.

February 20, 2008

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