World number two Phil Mickelson is looking forward to playing golf again having endured a worrying time off the course last week when his home was threatened by wildfires in southern California.

The 37-year-old, who is taking part in the €2.8-million Barclays Singapore Open at Sentosa Golf Club, came close to seeing his house in Rancho Santa Fe destroyed by the massive blaze near San Diego last week.

"I had an interesting week in California. We had the wildfires come very close to our home," said the left-hander.

"In fact, it burned down some of our neighbours' home. We were fortunate to escape. It touched the edges of our lot. There was a street right around our house and eight out of 12 homes were lost. It was very close. I feel almost guilty that our home was unscathed but our neighbours lost everything."

A clutch of the world's leading golfers will need to master a tight, demanding, island course when action begins tomorrow.

Mickelson, the world number two, is making his first appearance in Asia and the 37-year-old is keen to make an impression.

The par-72 Serapong Course is the opening event of a lucrative month-long swing in the region that includes next week's Champions Tournament and the World Cup.

Australia's Adam Scott returns to Singapore in search of a hat-trick of titles but the world number six faces an impressive line-up that includes major winners Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Michael Campbell and Angel Cabrera as well as Lee Westwood, KJ Choi and Darren Clarke.