Barclays Singapore Open Preview

A strong field has travelled to Singapore this week to contest the Barclays Singapore Open at Sentosa Golf Club. Ian Poulter defends the title but will face stiff competition from the likes of Martin Kaymer and Phil Mickelson.

Ian Poulter defends
Fergus Bisset
By
published

Lowdown: A strong field has travelled to Singapore this week to contest the Barclays Singapore Open at Sentosa Golf Club. Ian Poulter defends the title but will face stiff competition from the likes of Martin Kaymer and Phil Mickelson. This will be the second year the Singapore Open has been co-sanctioned by the European Tour. In 2009, Ian Poulter of England took the title by a single shot from China's Liang Wen-chong. The set-up for this year's event has been altered slightly. The field has been extended from 156 to 204 and play will be over two courses - the Serapong and the Tanjong - for the first two days. Those who make the cut will play a further two rounds on the Serapong. Sentosa Golf Club was opened for play in 1974 by Singapore's then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. The club will play host to the Singapore Open for the sixth time. The tournament began life in 1961 but was not played between 2002 and 2004. It returned to the Asian Tour schedule in 2005. Barclays became title sponsor in 2006 and, last year, the event became co-sanctioned with The European Tour. This will be the 47th running of the Singapore Open. There's an increased prize fund for this year's tournament and, with over €4 million to be handed out, it's one of Asia's richest events. Venue: Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore Date: Nov 11-14 Course stats: Serapong par 71, 7,300 yards; Tanjong par 71, 6,625 yards Purse: €4,305,000 Winner: €713,165 Defending Champion: Ian Poulter (-10)

TV Coverage: Thursday 11 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 5am Friday 12 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 5am Saturday 13 - Live on Sky Sports 1 from 3am Sunday 14 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 3am

Player Watch: Ian Poulter - Last year's winner is in confident mood ahead of this event and has targeted the World Number 1 slot as a key ambition. "Anybody in the top-10 in the world who has a good six months can find themselves moving up the world ranking high enough to contend for that Number 1 spot. And that's something I'm aiming for," he said.

Martin Kaymer - The German has to be viewed as a potential winner of any tournament he enters at the moment. He had a disappointing week in the HSBC Champions and will be looking to bounce back strongly from that.

Graeme McDowell - He's won in Asia in the past (the Ballantines Championship) and is looking to continue his climb up the World Ranking. There are few players in the world game with such confidence at the moment. Key hole: 18th (Serapong.) A par 5 of 542 yards, this is a great finishing hole. Reachable in two for most, a lake lurks all down the left hand side. The hole turns from right to left so anything with a touch too much draw on it could end up wet.

Skills required: Driving. With only one par 4 under 400 yards the Seraong course requires long and straight hitting from the tee. Five of the par 4s measure over 450 yards and the shortest par 5 is 542 yards.

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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