Mickelson ready to make Shanghai debut  SHANGHAI -- World No.2 Phil Mickelson is eager to enjoy a successful debut when he headlines an elite field at the HSBC Champions on Thursday.  Phil Mickelson is looking for his second win outside the U.S. (WireImage)
Mickelson is the star attraction in the $5 million event which will feature 10 of the world's top-20 players at Sheshan International Golf Club and on top of his mind is to leave a lasting impression in his first visit to China. Fresh from his outing in Singapore last week, Mickelson, with 32 PGA TOUR titles under his belt, is shooting for only his second win outside of the United States following his lone success at the Perrier Open in France in 1993. Mickelson will be joined by Major champions Retief Goosen and Ernie Els, both from South Africa, reigning U.S. Open winner Angel Cabrera of Argentina, Fijian star Vijay Singh and British Open champion Padraig Harrington of Ireland. Asia's challenge in the HSBC Champions, which is sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour, Southern African Tour, Australasian Tour and China Golf Association, will be led by Chinese ace Liang Wen-chong, Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee, India's Jyoti Randhawa and Filipino veteran Frankie Minoza. "I feel a lot better. I had a bit of a virus on the weekend (last week), and I think that the heat made it a little worse," said Mickelson today. "But I've had a good practice session this morning and I'm starting to hit the ball much better, and I'm expecting to play well this week." The lefthander, who is a three-time Major champion, is making a rare foray outside the US and said he would start playing more abroad to spread the gospel of golf. "I think that it would help the globalisation of golf if more top players played more international events. And in the past, I have not been able to do that because it hasn't been fair to my family. "They have been traveling throughout the year, and they couldn't appreciate all of the things that new countries have to offer," said Mickelson, whose family is with him and has already visited the Great Wall of China this week. "Now that my kids are older, they are eight, six and four-years-old, they can grasp the cultural differences. They get enjoyment out of the educational opportunities of seeing cities in different countries. And so, I'm making an effort or want to make an effort to do both and help globalise golf but also to take advantage of giving my kids a more global education," he admitted. The 34-year-old Harrington returns to China for the first time since his Major breakthrough at the British Open in July. The smiling Irishman failed to retain his Order of Merit title in Europe last weekend and knows he needs to get his mental game back on track when he tees off alongside Korea's Choi Kyung-ju and Goosen on Thursday. "There's the mental side of the game that probably is the highest emphasis. When it's good, I'm good and when it's not, I'm not. "That's probably where the consistency is. I obviously have a good short game and that needs constant work to keep it up to that standard. And that's definitely an area of my game that needs plenty of work. It is the difference between when I do play very well and not," said Harrington. Liang, the current Asian Tour No. 1, will lead the local charge with the evergreen Zhang Lian-wei while other Asian Tour stalwarts making their debuts in the HSBC Champions include Malaysian Airil Rizman and Filipinos Artemio Murakami and Juvic Pagunsan. The HSBC Champions is a special event on the Asian Tour and does not count towards the race for the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit crown. |
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