Rosales up vs world best in JW Classic

Top Filipino golfer Gerald Rosales will line up against some of the world’s top players when he competes in the UK£1 million Johnnie Walker Classic at the Alpine Golf Club in Bangkok, Thailand Jan. 29-Feb. 1.

The 27-year-old will no doubt relish the opportunity of playing alongside top golfers such as defending champion and world No.3 Ernie Els, The Open champion Ben Curtis of America, US PGA winner Shaun Micheel and six-time Major winner, Nick Faldo.

A host of European Tour stalwarts will also be competing as the race for Ryder Cup points heats up. These include Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie, Welshman Ian Woosnam, England’s Lee Westwood and Thomas Bjorn of Denmark.

Some of golf’s ‘Young Guns’ including England’s Justin Rose–the Johnnie Walker Young Golfer of the Year in 2003–and Ian Poulter, South African Trevor Immelman and Australia’s Adam Scott will also be taking part in the 13th staging of the event.

Rosales, making his debut in the Johnnie Walker Classic, finished last season in 33rd position on the Asian Order of Merit, having won just over $50,000 in prize money.

His best finish in 2003 came at another European-sanctioned event, the Carlsberg Malaysian Open, where he finished in joint ninth position.

In Bangkok, Rosales will no doubt be trying to recapture some of the winning ways of his amateur career that saw him secure the 1997 Philippine Amateur Championship and the Singapore Amateur Championship two years later.

With a little help from his sister, Jennifer, who plays on the US LPGA Tour, Rosales also won the Philippine Open 2000.

Rosales will be joined by fellow Asian PGA Tour players Zhang Lian-wei of China, who secured second spot in the 2003 Asian Tour Order of Merit, top Thais Thongchai Jaidee, Thaworn Wiratchant and Thammanoon Srirot, Korea’s Charlie Wi and Ted and James Oh, Danny Chia of Malaysia and Taiwan’s Lin Keng-chi and Tsai Chi-huang.