BALLANTINE'S CHAMPIONSHIP RELATED STORIES Ballantine's Championship home page Ballantine's Championship Preview Round 1: Ilonen and Carolan lead the way on 67 Round 2: McDowell heads Jeev for clubhouse lead Round 2: McDowell leads Jeev by two at halfway Round 3: Jeev and McDowell build four shot lead Round 4: McDowell downs Jeev in playoff Final Scores & Prize Money Order of Merit after the Ballantine's Ch'ship About the Pinx Golf Club course Choi is out to impress on home soil Local hero Yang looking for strong support Harrington expects strong Korean challenge Prom looking for repeat of Korean success Wind will play a big role in Jeju, says Ho Choi predicts big impact on Korean golf Asia and Europe's finest to face off at Ballantine's Revamped Pinx course to challenge world's best Yang and DiMarco line up for Ballantine's Ballantine's boost for golf in Korea "Awesome experience" awaits Anthony Kim in Korea Kim Young Kyu to face reality of Tour golf Stellar field for Ballantine's Korea to include Choi AT schedule boosted by Korean and Indian events Full details of the Pinx Golf Club in Jeju ASIAN GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Ben Leong claims maiden victory PGA: Jeev and Wi tie for ninth Prom targets Thai win in Brunei Shin Ji-yai takes Women's British Open Asian Tour starts 2nd half on a high Norman to play 2009 Johnnie Walker Mission Hills to host AP Summit GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Paul Azinger names US wildcards Faldo chooses Casey and Poulter Havret gains wire to wire Gleneagles win Sluman clinches First Tee Open with closing 67 Fallout continues over LPGA "English" rule Poulter chooses high risk Ryder Cup strategy

 Event Preview - five to watch this week

The inaugural Ballentine’s Championship tees off at the Pinx Golf Club in Jeju island this week.

Featuring a star-studded line-up of world class golfers, we look at five top contenders who are likely to vie for top honours at this US$2.9m event, sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and the Korean PGA.

Choi Kyung-ju (KJ)
Choi, a seven-time winner on the US PGA Tour and current world no. 5, continues to be the pacesetter for the Asian contingent. As the first Asian to break into the world’s top-10 players’ ranking, Choi plays most of his golf on the US PGA Tour now, but will be looking for a happy homecoming with a win this week.

Yang Yong-eun
Yang upstaged some of the biggest names in world golf, fending off spirited challenges from Major champions Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen and Michael Campbell when he won the HSBC Champions in Shanghai 2006.
The 36-year old Korean will be aiming for a happy return to Jeju island- the island where he was born to claim more notable scalps this week.

S.S.P Chowrasia
India’s S.S.P Chowrasia made headlines all over the world when he won the Asian Tour’s season opener- EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters last month. Against a star-studded field that included world number four, Ernie Els, the 29-year-old held on his nerves to come out tops. All eyes will once again be on Chowrasia as he attempts to win his second major title for the year this week.

Liang Wen-chong
The Chinese star is the brightest hope for the Asian Tour this week. Crowned Asia’s number one in 2007, Liang is also the the first Chinese player to win the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit following a superb season where he clinched one victory and eight other top-10s. This will be Liang’s last event before he heads off for The Masters and he will certainly be hoping to put in an impressive performance before he leaves for the US.

Padraig Harrington
Current British Open champion and world no. 10, Padraig Harrington became the first Irishman to win The Open Championship in 60 years and also the first European to win a major since Paul Lawrie won the same tournament in 1999. After lifting the Claret Jug last year, the 36-year old Irish who also holds a degree in Accounting, will be seeking his first win on a Major tour this season.

March 10, 2008