WINNERS of three majors, Tom Lehman, Steve Jones and Mark Brooks, head one of the strongest fields ever for next month's World Matchplay golf championship at Wentworth.
The only 1996 major winner not in the star studded 12 man field is US Masters champion Nick Faldo, who is committed to a tournament in Japan during the matchplay dates of October 17th to 20th.
The three Americans, British Open winner Lehman, US Open champion Jones and PGA champion Brooks, will join two times defending champion and top seed Ernie Els of South Africa as seeds with byes through the first round.
Els will be trying to become the first player to win the title three times in succession in the 33 year history of the event. The leading four will play the winners of the four 36 hole first round matches involving the other eight players.
Brooks and Lehman are second and third on the US money list from which the top five are in the field. Leader Phil Mickelson, the winner of four tournaments this year, fourth placed Mark O'Meara and fifth placed Steve Strieker are all taking part.
Australian Steve Elkington, last year's runner up, returns to try and go one better while Colin Montgomerie and Ian Woosnam, currently waging a battle to be European number one for the year, are both back again.
Woosnam won in 1987 and 1990 while Montgomerie, Europe's number one the past three years, was runner up to Els in 1994, his best finish in four appearances.
Completing the strong field for the prestigious event are Vijay Singh of Fiji, world ranked 18th, and Nobuo Serizawa, the reigning Japanese matchplay champion.
