Scottish Alfred Dunhill Cup player Raymond Russell and compatriot Gordon Sherry have been confirmed for December's Hong Kong Open at Fanling's Hong Kong Golf Club. They are the first overseas players to be confirmed for the December 5-8 event, which is part of the Asian Tour. The 24-year-old Russell was part of the Scottish Alfred Dunhill Cup team, along with Colin Montgomerie and Andrew Coltart, who competed at St Andrews earlier this month. He already has one tournament title under his belt, the Air France Cannes Open, and is 14th on the European Tour Order of Merit. Russell was also runner-up in the Scottish PGA Championship and has five other top-10 finishes this year. Sherry, 22, shot to fame as an amateur when he upstaged American sensation Tiger Woods as Scotland won last year's Walker Cup. Ron Carstairs, chairman of the Hong Kong Open organising committee, said: 'Russell and Sherry have the potential to win major tournaments on the world stage and Hong Kong will have the chance to see first hand exactly how good these players are. 'More international and Asian players will be signing up for the Hong Kong Open and the depth in quality of the field will be among the best ever assembled for the event.' Organisers are hoping to attract at least one top-10 player from the European Order of Merit as well as a few quality American golfers. Meanwhile, organisers of next week's US$500,000 Alfred Dunhill Masters, which is on the Hong Kong Open's rival Omega Tour, yesterday announced the full list of players for the Fanling event. Singapore's Samson Gimson has pulled out while Australian Ian Baker-Finch has been replaced by compatriot Wayne Grady. The field features 70 players from the Australasian Tour, which enjoys joint sanction of the event, and top Asian players from the Omega Tour who have vowed to boycott the Hong Kong Open. It also includes world-class golfers Montgomerie, South African Ernie Els, Spain's Seve Ballesteros, German Bernhard Langer and New Zealand's defending champion Michael Campbell.
