Stars align for 30th anniversary of Volvo China Open

The stars of the DP World Tour and Asia's top young golfing talents will be prominent when the Volvo China Open tees off in Shanghai at Enhance Anting Golf Club on April 17-20.

With a purse of $2.55 million, the golf action will be intense as the 30th anniversary of the national championship marks the penultimate stop of the DP World Tour's Asian Swing. The top three players at the end of the four-tournament swing will receive a spot in the field for next month's PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.

Adrian Otaegui is the defending champion and will be in Shanghai attempting to become the first player to win back-to-back Volvo China Open titles. To do so, he will have to beat a top field featuring eight players who have won on the DP World Tour in the 2024-2025 season. Among them are Elvis Smylie, Johannes Veerman, Shaun Norris, Alejandro Del Rey, Dylan Naidoo, Calum Hill, Eugenio Chacarra, and China No 1 Li Haotong, the 2016 Volvo China Open champion who won the Qatar Masters in February.

With former Volvo China Open champions Wu Ashun, Zhang Jin, Nicolas Colsaerts and two-time winner Alexander Levy also in the field, Otaegui said he knows he is in for a tough week if he is to achieve a successful title defense.

"Defending a title is always a great feeling and hopefully I can do that," said Otaegui, a Dubai-based Spaniard who overcame a five-shot deficit to win last year's championship by a stroke in Shenzhen. "I just want to do the best I can and the Volvo China Open has a great history with a long list of winners. I want to be in contention on Sunday and that is what motivates me."

The championship also provides a great opportunity for golf fans to get a close-up view of the game's rising young stars, among them Beijing native Ding Wenyi, a DP World Tour rookie who turned pro last year after an outstanding amateur career. Jin Zihao, the 2024 China Tour Order of Merit winner, is another playing full-time on the DP World Tour and will undoubtedly be looking to challenge at his national championship after finishing equal 35th last year.

Others in the field include Taichi Kho, who in 2023 became the first Hong Kong player win on the Asian Tour, and Chinese-American Brandon Wu, the former PGA Tour regular who is now playing on the DP World Tour.