FOR a second week running, StrokeAverage.com will have a very strong representation in a limited field event when the HSBC Champions gets underway in Shanghai on Thursday.

Last week marked the end of an era as the Volvo Masters ended a 20-year relationship with the European Tour, and Valderrama hosted - what is for now the last – its last major professional golf tournament.

There were 10 clients who use StrokeAverage.com’s consultancy services to analyse their golf stats and performance in the field at the famous Sotogrande course on Spain’s Costa del Sol as Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen claimed a cheque for €708,000 and Sweden’s Robert Karlsson wrapped up the race to be crowned Europe’s number one.

This week marks the beginning of a new era as the European Tour embarks on the Race to Dubai – the new season-long series to rival the PGA Tour of America’s FedEx Cup.

Instead of a series of play-offs, the top 60 from the money list will head to the Dubai World Championship on Greg Norman’s Earth Course at the Jumeirah Golf Estate, from November 16-19, 2009 – with a first prize of $3,666,660 up for grabs.

In Shanghai, five StrokeAverage.com clients are in the 77-strong field for the first event of the historic Race to Dubai, which will encompass a total of 53 tournaments in 27 countries over the coming 51 weeks.

Phil Mickelson is the defending champion – the first time he has defended a title outside of America in his career, while for Ross Fisher – arguably StrokeAverage.com’s most successful client in 2008 – there is the incentive to go one better than last year when the 27-year-old Wentworth ace lost an enthralling play-off to the American star.

Ross Fisher earned a five-year exemption by winning the European Open at The London Golf Club in early July, and went on to lose in his second play-off in 11 months when Robert Karlsson claimed the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews, in October.

The former Surrey Colts Champion also had a chance to win the Portuguese Masters at the Victoria Club in Vilamoura last month and finally finished sixth in the Order of Merit with his tied 11th place in his second appearance in the Volvo Masters, having turned pro just four years ago.

The long-hitter, who grew up in Ascot and is coached by Christian Baker at the famous Virginia Water club, is tipped by many pundits and commentators to go on to even bigger and better things in 2009 – when the rewards for the leading players will be potentially even greater, despite the growing economic turmoil around the world.

Graeme McDowell can also claim to have been the most successful player that uses StrokeAverage.com to record their golf stats, having just edged Fisher out of fifth place in the European Tour Order of Merit with his share of eighth place at Valderrama.

The 29-year-old picked up his first two wins since 2004 by claiming the Ballantine’s Championship in Korea and the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond in July, as StrokeAverage.com players won back-to-back leading up to the Open at Royal Birkdale.

The golfer from Portrush, in Northern Ireland, is also in China this week and will fancy going up against Mickelson and Fisher after proving his world-class credentials with some superb golf on his Ryder Cup debut in Valhalla, in September, when McDowell picked up 21/2 points in his four matches.

Having one once in Asia already this year, the ultra-competitive Ulsterman will want to start the Race to Dubai as well as he played throughout the past 12 months, as will Yorkshire’s Richard Finch – one of three StrokeAverage players to record two wins on the 2008 schedule.

Lee Westwood was the third player who made up the play-off at last year’s HSBC Champions, having come from 10 shots back to catch Mickelson, who took a six having found water by the green at the par five last only for Fisher to chip over the green into the same lake for a double bogey seven.

Westwood, who is itching to record his first win in just over a year after missing out on the chance to pip Karlsson to the Harry Vardon Trophy at Valderrama last week, is missing from this week’s field.

The 35-year-old has decided to finally have his tonsils removed after a succession of infections over the past two years.

But one man who knows how to win around the Sheshan International Golf Club is David Howell, winner of the inaugural HSBC Champions three years ago.

The 33-year-old has shown signs of the form that brought him three wins in less than 12 months, starting with the 2005 BMW Invitational in Munich, and ending with the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth eight months later, sandwiching that HSBC triumph, where Howell held off a charge from world number one Tiger Woods.

Having lost a play-off to Gregory Bourdy at the Estoril Open in April, Howell also finished in the top three at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in August, having produced his best-ever finish in the Open when sharing seventh spot at Birkdale.

Returning to Shanghai could just be the spark Howell needs to kick start the Race to Dubai with another success for StrokeAverage.com, having been the first Tour player to use the Kent-based company’s services, back in 2003 when he languished outside the world’s top 150 golfers.

Another StrokeAveage.com stalwart who has a victory in China to his name this year is Darren Clarke. The Ulsterman won the BMW Asian Open in China in April and followed that up by claiming the KLM Open title in Holland in August.

While that was not enough to earn one of Nick Faldo’s two Ryder Cup wildcards for Kentucky, his 13th place finish in this year’s European Order of Merit means that the 39-year-old from Chobham, Surrey, has qualified for three of the Majors in 2009.

And victory in Shangahi this week, will get him back in the world’s top 50 and give him a chance of securing an invitation to Augusta come April – the only one of the big four golf tournaments Clarke is not automatically entered for next year.

And as the only player in China this week to have won two World Golf Championships, Clarke will have no fears if he finds himself in contention with Mickelson, Players Champion Sergio Garcia, double FedEx Cup play-off winner Camilo Villegas and American Ryder Cup star Anthony Kim, who is expected to join the Columbian on several European adventures next year after indicating their willingness to join the Race to Dubai.

Golf article end.