Four More Star Golfers Join Strongest Field Ever for China

    SHANGHAI, China, April 1 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Denmark's #1 player THOMAS
 BJORN has confirmed he will play in the star-studded 2005 JOHNNIE WALKER
 CLASSIC.  Joining him will be Scotland's COLIN MONTGOMERIE; South African
 TREVOR IMMELMAN and a past winner of the JOHNNIE WALKER CLASSIC, New Zealander
 MICHAEL CAMPBELL.
 
     ( Photos:
 
     THOMAS BJORN:
     http://xprnnews.xfn.info/johnniewalker/thomas.htm
 
     MICHAEL CAMPBELL:
     http://xprnnews.xfn.info/johnniewalker/michael.htm
 
     COLIN MONTGOMERIE:
     http://xprnnews.xfn.info/johnniewalker/colin.htm
 
     TREVOR IMMELMAN:
     http://xprnnews.xfn.info/johnniewalker/trevor.htm )
 
 
     Presented by JOHNNIE WALKER, the world's leading deluxe Scotch whisky, the
 JOHNNIE WALKER CLASSIC, Asia Pacific's premier golf tournament, is being
 played in mainland China for the first time in its fourteen year history and
 will be held on April 21-24 at the prestigious Pine Valley Golf Resort and
 Country Club, Beijing.
     THOMAS BJORN, the 34-year old Dane, is currently ranked 25th in the world
 with seven European Tour victories to his credit.  Bjorn nearly won the
 biggest of them all, the Open Championship in 2003.  With three holes to play
 Bjorn was leading only to finish tied for second.  Having turned pro in 1993,
 he became the first Danish golfer to play in the Ryder Cup.  Last year at the
 JOHNNIE WALKER CLASSIC in Bangkok he narrowly missed out again finishing 2nd
 behind Miguel Angel Jimenez.
     COLIN MONTGOMERIE, the popular Scot won the European Order of Merit for a
 record seven consecutive years.  Monty, as he is affectionately known, has won
 thirty-four events worldwide since turning pro in 1987 and has represented
 Europe in seven Ryder Cup Matches including playing a pivotal role in Europe's
 success last year.  Montgomerie is now ranked 54th in the world.
     TREVOR IMMELMAN, the 25-year old South African e became the first player
 since the legendary Gary Player to win back-to-back South African Opens.  Last
 year, went on to win the Deutsche Bank SAP Open.  Immelman is currently ranked
 62nd in the world.
     New Zealander, MICHAEL CAMPBELL has won thirteen times since turning Pro
 in 1993.  One of Campbell's most notable victories was in the 2000 JOHNNIE
 WALKER CLASSIC in Taipei, where he beat a star-studded field including Vijay
 Singh, Ernie Els and Tiger Woods.
     These four truly international players join a field of players that is the
 strongest ever assembled for a golf tournament in China: world #3 ERNIE ELS;
 #5 RETIEF GOOSEN; #7 SERGIO GARCIA and #9 ADAM SCOTT.  Plus Korea's #1 K J
 CHOI; Young Guns LUKE DONALD and PAUL CASEY; six-time major winner NICK FALDO
 and the 2004 JOHNNIE WALKER CLASIC champion, MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ.
     The JOHNNIE WALKER CLASSIC is jointly owned and presented by JOHNNIE
 WALKER and IMG and is jointly sanctioned by the European, Asian and
 Australasian Tours and the China Golf Association.
     JOHNNIE WALKER is the world's leading deluxe Scotch whisky.  IMG is the
 world's premier sports and lifestyle management and marketing firm.
     All four days action will be broadcast live on CCTV5 in China, and in
 major markets around the world.  More information is available on
 http://www.johnniewalkerclassic.com .
     Tickets will be available from March 28, 2005 from Emma Ticket by calling
 +86-10-6775-6666 Press 2 or +86-10-8778-1377 or visit http://www.emma.cn for
 more information.
 
     To learn more about the 2005 JOHNNIE WALKER CLASSIC, please contact
 Burson-Marsteller at:
 
       Holly Hu - Shanghai
       Tel:    +86-21-6249-1640 ext. 171
       Fax:    +86-21-6249-1646
       Mobile: +86-13761683747
       Email:  holly_hu@sh.bm.com
 
 

SOURCE  JOHNNIE WALKER