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Source: The Canadian Press

Anthony Kim has joined the European Tour for next season, leading what is expected to become a migration of high-profile American golfers to spend more time playing in lucrative tournaments overseas.

The 23-year-old Kim, who has shot up to No. 8 in the world rankings, paid the mandatory 2,000 British pound (C$3,998) fee for membership but will depend on invitations for any event he plays in, the European Tour said Wednesday. He is scheduled to play at the HSBC Championships in Shanghai from Nov. 6-9.

The tour said Camilo Villegas of Colombia had also paid the dues to become a member, meaning both players can feature in next season’s Dubai World Championships, a US$20-million tournament that will replace the Volvo Masters from 2009 as the season finale to determine the tour’s leading player.

“Anytime you get players from the calibre of Camilo and Anthony into the tour, it’s great. It’s an asset, it’s good for golf, it’s good for the European Tour,” Sergio Garcia said.

Mike Weir of Bright’s Grove, Ont., and Phil Mickelson and have also talked about playing more in Europe next season, and Garcia said he expects several other PGA Tour players to seize on the moneymaking opportunities offered overseas.

“Some of the tournaments we play in the Middle East … are bigger than the ones they play in the U.S. You get good players there, so world rankings points increase,” Garcia said. “At the end of the day, that’s what the big players do it for.”

Over the last six months, Kim has emerged as one of golf’s brightest young prospect with victories in the Wachovia Championship and AT&T National at Congressional, along with a starring role in the United States’ victory at the Ryder Cup. Kim had begun the year at No. 75 in the world.

The 26-year-old Villegas is ranked seventh, meaning eight of the world’s 10 best players will feature in Europe in 2009.

“If you want the tour to grow and get to the level that it deserves, there’s no doubt that you need those big players,” Garcia said from the Volvo Masters.

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Tags: Camilo Villegas, Latest News, Mike Weir, PGA Pros by admin
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By: SkySports

Sergio Garcia has spoken of his delight at the fact that both Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas have agreed to join the European Tour next season.

Kim and Villegas have now confirmed their intentions to play on both sides of the Atlantic by paying their European Tour joining fees.

Garcia revealed he had played a part in convincing the duo to take up their membership and feels they will prove to be huge assets.

“It’s great,” said Garcia ahead of the Volvo Masters where he will be looking to add to his triumph at the Castello Masters last week – an event at which Villegas made his European debut.

“I think any time you can get players of the calibre of Camilo and Anthony into the Tour, it’s great.

“It’s an asset and it’s good for golf. It’s good for the European Tour and it’s nice to see those guys move around a little bit and not only play in the US.

“We’ll welcome them with open arms and we hope they can enjoy it as much as we do.”

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Tags: Camilo Villegas, Latest News, PGA Pros, Photos by admin
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Written by: EuropeanTour.com

Charismatic Colombian Camilo Villegas, one of the most exciting young talents in the game, will bring his own brand of swashbuckling golf to the fairways of the Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai from November 6 -9 when he lines up in the field for the HSBC Champions.

The 26 year old with the movie star looks will supplement the galaxy of stars already confirmed for the fourth staging of the US$5 million tournament which is co-sanctioned by The European Tour, the Asian Tour, the PGA Tour of Australasia, the Sunshine Tour and the China Golf Association.

It will not be Villegas’ first taste of the special HSBC Champions atmosphere, however, having made his debut in the tournament which heralded the start of the 2007 European Tour International Schedule, and where he finished in a tie for 23rd place in the event won by Korea’s Y E Yang.

“I know what to expect because I played in Shanghai two years ago,” he said. “But I am so glad that I didn’t miss out on it this year.”

The inclusion of Villegas in the field further strengthens what is already a superb line up; headed by defending champion and World Number Two Phil Mickelson of the United States and Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, a winner of two Major Championships in 2008. In addition, reigning Masters Tournament Champion Trevor Immelman will tee up alongside players of the calibre of Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim, Geoff Ogilvy, Adam Scott and Henrik Stenson.

Villegas has, of course, already illustrated he is more than capable of winning in the most exalted of company having done just that on no less than two occasions in the United States last month.

There, he won the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club in Missouri before, three weeks later, he captured The Tour Championship presented by Coca Cola at East Lake Golf Club in Georgia. Those two events were, of course, the final two counting events in the US PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Series, victories which saw Villegas take second place in the Series behind Fiji’s Vijay Singh.

“I’m in the form of my life and I can’t wait to take on all the other top players in Shanghai, he said. “Obviously Phil Mickelson is there to defend his title but I’m definitely going there to win.”

Of course, the HSBC Champions also heralds the start of the inaugural Race to Dubai on The 38th European Tour International Schedule, a global journey which will comprise some 53 tournaments in 26 destinations before reaching a thrilling crescendo with The Dubai World Championship on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai in November 2009.

Playing on The European Tour International Schedule and, hence, vying for The Race to Dubai has captured the imagination of all the top players across the world and Villegas is no exception. “The Race to Dubai is going to catch a lot of players’ attention and it will be nice to see some of the US guys come across the Pond,” he said.

“I am joining The European Tour for the 2009 season because I’ve always wanted to play around the world but if you’re not in the top 50 (on the Official World Golf Ranking) then that is almost impossible.

“But I’ve had a great finish to the year and managed to crack the top ten and once you do that and are guaranteed a place in the Major Championships and the World Golf Championships, then the maths becomes a little easier. I haven’t mapped out my full schedule for the year just yet, I’m still working on that, but I’m looking forward very much to getting under way in China next week.”

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Tags: Camilo Villegas, Latest News, PGA Pros, Photos by admin
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