World number one Rory McIlroy will headline this year’s Barclays Singapore Open along with three-time winner Adam Scott and American star Phil Mickelson, organisers said on Tuesday.
McIlroy, who won his second major title at the PGA Championship last month, adds significant celebrity power to the US$6 million event which is yet to announce next year’s title sponsor.
The Northern Irishman, as well as four-time major champion Mickelson, will also play a prominent role in the famous Ryder Cup team tournament taking place in Chicago later this month.
The November 8-11 Singapore Open, touted as “Asia’s major”, started in 1961 but is competing in an increasingly crowded market. In May, British bank Barclays decided not to extend its current contract, which expires this year. Last month, Asian Tour chief executive Mike Kerr told AFP he was in talks to bring an “iconic” tournament at a “similar level” to the majors to Asia within three to five years, but did not reveal in which country.
McIlroy underlined his top ranking on Sunday when held off an elite field to claim his second consecutive win on the US PGA Tour play-off series, putting him in pole position for the series champion’s $10 million bonus. The 23-year-old will play in Singapore as part of an Asian swing that will also take him to the BMW Masters in Shanghai and a one-day matchplay face-off against Tiger Woods elsewhere in China.
