Shanghai, October 24: Zimbabwean Scott Vincent and Sihwan Kim of the United States are prepared for one of their career’s biggest tests when they take on the world’s best players at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions which starts on Thursday.

Vincent qualified for the US$10 million Chinese showpiece as one of the leading four players from the Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings while Kim secured his place when the number of spots for the Asian Tour was increased to six due to late withdrawals.

The 26-year-old Vincent is the first golfer from Zimbabwe to play on the Asian Tour. While he is still awaiting his breakthrough, he has already enjoyed three runner-up results and six top-10 finishes this season.

Kim, on the other hand, has posted five top-five finishes on the Asian Tour so far and is currently in ninth place on the Habitat for Humanity Standings.

The Korean-American was elated upon receiving the news that he was going to tee up at the year’s final WGC event which will feature five of the world’s top six golfers and all of the year’s Major winners.

They include world number one Brooks Koepka of the United States, defending champion Justin Rose of England and Italy’s Francesco Molinari, who famously triumphed at The 147th Open Championship this year.

The home challenge will be led by China’s highest ranked player Li Haotong. Li, who is currently ranked 54th in the world, finished tied-seventh at the WGC-HSBC Champions in 2015 which remains his best result at the event so far.

Did you know?

• Scott Vincent earned his first Asian Tour card in 2016 via Qualifying School.
• In his rookie year on Tour, he posted two top-10s, including a tied-second finish at the Shinhan Donghae Open. Vincent went on to finish 28th on the Order of Merit to retain his card for the 2017 season.
• In 2017, he claimed four top-10s to finish in 17th place on the Order of Merit.
• The Zimbabwean has posted nine top-10s this season including three runner-up finishes.
• Sihwan Kim is a graduate of the 2017 Asian Tour Qualifying School. Straight after securing his card then, he went on to claim two straight top-10 finishes at the Leopalace21 Myanmar Open and Bashundhara Bangladesh Open.
• He secured a tied-sixth finish at the season-ending Indonesian Masters to finish in 55th place on the Habitat for Humanity Standings and retain his card for 2018.
• Kim has already secured five top-five finishes on the Asian Tour so far and is currently in ninth place on the Habitat for Humanity standings.

Players’ Quotes

Scott Vincent (Zim)

I’m obviously very excited to be here. I was just telling Kelsey (wife) the other day that at the start of the year, I was qualifying to play at the SA Open and a few months later, I’m playing at a WGC event. What a year it has been. I got to play in some amazing tournaments and I’ve also played some amazing golf this year. This is definitely the pinnacle of my golfing career so far and it’s nice to be able to share this with my wife and to rub shoulders with the best players in the world. I’m not expecting a lot but I still very competitive and I want to come out here to compete. I know what I need to do as a player and I’ll try to stick to the game plan. Then we’ll see where that puts us at the end of the week.

Sihwan Kim (Usa)

I’m very excited and I’m very glad I can make it here. I was like one of the last ones to get in here and getting anything here would be a huge bonus. I was in the States and then I got an email that I was the first reserve and a couple of days later, I was in. I was happy and excited. I just got to stay patient and hopefully I can hole some putts to keep the momentum going. I just got to keep the ball on the fairway as the rough can be very tricky here. If I can do that, you can have lots of birdie chances which I certainly need around here.

Li Haotong (Chn)

I just want a chance to play better, and to have a good performance, as well, and to enjoy this great event, great week here. Winning in Dubai was certainly the highlight for me this year. I want to thank the China Golf Association for giving me the opportunity to compete across the world and to have that chance to win such a great event. It has been an amazing year. I feel that I will have a breakthrough this year because I have a pretty good momentum and I’m in pretty good shape. It is a lot of pressure, but I think right now I’m much better to compete. I think three years ago, I was one behind in the last or second last group. So I enjoy it more and I’m more used to it I think.

Brooks Koepka (Usa)

It was nice (to win in Korea last week). To start the year off with a win is something you always want to do. 1-for-1 is always nice. Just got to build on that. I feel like I’ve built a lot of momentum throughout the year and obviously only a week off in between, it felt like, so there wasn’t much of a gap. To build that momentum and kind of build on what I’ve done this year, was key, and hopefully, you know, it rolls over into this week and then have a few weeks off to kind of figure out what I need to work on and what needs to get better, and go from there. I’ve only been world number one for three days. I haven’t found too many challenges in those three days. But I’m looking forward to this week. Looking forward to teeing it up as number one. I think that’s something every golfer kind of dreams of and every golfer wants to accomplish. I’m looking to build on that lead, grow it, and that way I can be number one for a while. The goal isn’t just to get here; it’s to stay here. I think you look at it, and you get the best players in the world to come over here. I mean, I know a lot of the guys in the States, they have got to travel, you know, 16, 17 hours just to get here, but yet the guys are doing it. So there’s a reason that they are going to come over here. It’s a WGC. It’s an important — you know, these eight events, the majors and WGCs, are what you want to play and what you want to win. And when you’re done, when you’re done playing, those are what people remember you for. They remember you for the majors that you’ve won, the WGCs, things like that. So it’s an important event. I wouldn’t — I think what they are doing right now is an unbelievable job. The way they treat us here is fantastic. The fans are awesome. It’s a fun golf course to play, and I think that right there speaks for itself.