October 25th 2010, Shanghai, China: South Africa’s Ernie Els, who came within a whisker of winning the 2009 WGC-HSBC Champions, has confirmed his entry for the 2010 WGC-HSBC Champions at the Sheshan International Golf Club, Shanghai, from the 4th to 7th November 2010.

The world number 11, known throughout the golf world as “The Big Easy” because of his seemingly-effortless swing, will be attempting to go one better than last year when he fell one shot short of the winner Phil Mickelson despite shooting a course-record equalling 9-under-par 63.

One of only five golfers to have claimed multiple World Golf Championships titles – he won the 2010 WGC-CA Championship in Doral, Florida and the 2004 American Express Championship in Kilkenny, Ireland – Els is also one of the few active golfers to have first-hand experience of the battle to be the world number one that will begin when Tiger Woods loses his top-ranked status at the start of the tournament week.

“It’s been five years since there was a week like this and nothing like it in the history of golf in Asia. The attention and interest it creates is incredible,” Els said.

“It’s big for the world of golf and great for the Asian golf fans and the tournament.”

Els was one of Tiger’s main rivals the last time he relinquished top spot, when the Big Easy and Vijay Singh swapped places with Woods through 2004 and 2005. Els had the top spot for nine weeks and only slipped out of contention when a ruptured anterior cruciate knee ligament forced him to have surgery. As well as having to fight his way back from that injury, Els’s priorities in life were also changed by the announcement in 2008 that his second child, his son Ben, had been diagnosed with autism. However, as he showed in Shanghai last year and proved this year with his wins at the WGC-CA Championship, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Grand Slam of Golf, he still has the game to win at the highest level.

“I’m getting on that plane to China with the aim of finish one place higher than last year,” he said.

“I know from personal experience how difficult it is to shut out all of the attention that comes with being in contention for the number one spot in the ranking. If I finished the year with a second WGC title, four wins in total and jumped back into the world’s top 10, I’ll be more than happy.

Els’s will face stiff competition however; the HSBC Champions field will once again be the strongest of the year outside the (British) Open Championship and the American tournaments.

“It’s a who’s who of world golf, with the top four players fighting to be world number one and the American and European Ryder Cup stars up against each other for the first time since Celtic Manor,” said HSBC Group Head of Sponsorship, Giles Morgan.

“Ernie Els brings even more class to what was already a world-class field. Ernie showed, with that fantastic final round last year, that he was ready to win against top-quality opposition. He proved it with three great wins this season and it would be a great exclamation mark to his year if he came back to Shanghai and put some more Wedgewood on his mantelpiece.” Morgan added.

Robbie Henchman, Senior Vice President of the tournament promoters IMG concluded, “Entries have now closed and the field is fantastic with 35 of the World’s top 50 players confirmed. It is fantastic to have Ernie in the field fresh from his win at the Grand Slam of Golf. He showed how well the course suited him with his near-flawless final round 63 last year and I am sure we will see him there or thereabouts on the leader board at this year’s WGC-HSBC Champions.”