Feng Shanshan fired up for Buick Championship

World No. 5 Feng Shanshan of China will aim to get her first victory of the year on home soil starting on Thursday when the Buick Championship tees offs at Shanghai Qizhong Garden Golf Club.

With the 72-hole, 600,000 US dollars tournament being a co-sponsored event between the China LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour, the 25-year-old Guangzhou native said she would have to raise her game to win in her first China start of the year.

Among the players in the field this week are England's Charley Hull, the 19-year-old who won the LET order of merit last year, as well as China's best young players, including US LPGA Tour regular Lin Xiyu.

"I've been faring well in the States [this year] with stable form and hope for some breakthroughs," said Feng, a Buick brand ambassador who has posted five top-10 finishes on the US LPGA this year.

"As a representative of Buick golf I will try my best and get a good result."

With the huge prize purse and the tournament being co-sponsored with the LET circuit for the first time, Feng, a winner of 13 pro events, including two last year, said the event provided a great opportunity for her younger compatriots to establish themselves and gain Rolex World Ranking points in the process.

"When I was younger, I couldn't imagine participating in this kind of event in these kind of situations at this level," she said. "It is a great chance for them to experience it and decide what they want to do next and make their own decisions."

Hull, the world No. 44, got her first look at the Dana Fry-designed Qizhong Garden club on Tuesday and came away impressed. She comes into the tournament with three top-10 finishes this season, including an equal runner-up finish at the RACV Ladies Masters in December.

"I enjoy China and I think this golf course looks really nice. I played with Shanshan three years ago in the British Open when I was an amateur. I've been playing really well but there are some good players here this week, so I think it will be a good test," said the Kettering native, looking for her second pro win.

"I will try to get the championship this week. Every time I come to China I feel comfortable, but this is my first time to Shanghai. I expect my best showing here this week."

China's Pan Yanhong comes into the tournament as the defending champion. Last year, the former powerlifter won the inaugural event by four strokes when it was called the Buick Ladies Invitational. Since then she has won twice more, including last month's Australia Classic, for her fifth career title.

"I'm feeling a little pressure this week, but I will try my best," said the 29-year-old Hebei native. "It's not easy to successfully defend because Feng Shenshen and Lin Xiyu are LPGA players and they're playing this week. There's also a lot of talent from the LET, so I expect the competition to be very tense." Endi