Ryder Cup aces Padraig Harrington and Miguel Angel Jimenez will lead a powerful European challenge when the US$1.25 million Maybank Malaysian Open tees off on February 16.

Irishman Harrington heads for the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club after a sensational first full season on the US PGA Tour where he confirmed his status as one of world golf? outstanding players with two tournament victories.

Spain? Jimenez, meanwhile, will be looking to add to his 14 European Tour victories, a record that includes three wins in Asia.

Spearheading the Asian field will be two-time Malaysian Open defending champion Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand and China? best-known player, Zhang Lian Wei.

"The depth of the field in recent years just goes to show how far this tournament has come and how much players like Harrington and Thongchai like to play here," said Dato' Thomas Lee, president of the Malaysian Golf Association.

"This year? Maybank Malaysian Open is building up to be a feast of top-quality golf and intense competition."

The Maybank Malaysian Open has been a major fixture on the Asian and European Tours since 1999, when it became the first national Open to be granted co-sanctioned status.

Past champions include world No.2 and three-time Major winner Vijay Singh of Fiji and US-based Indian star Arjun Atwal.

"We're very excited to be involved in a competition of this calibre, The Open continues to attract marquee players and we look forward to an action packed competition," said Encik Agil Natt, Deputy President of Maybank.

"Hopefully with our sponsorship and the participation of star players, Maybank will one day help Malaysia produce a golf champion of international standard"

Harrington, 34, will tee-off as favourite after his two PGA Tour successes in 2005. His first was in March at the Honda Classic in Palm Beach, Florida, when he came from seven strokes off the lead after three rounds to beat Singh and Joe Ogilvie in a playoff.

If that victory was dramatic, his next, at the Barclays Classic in Harrison, New York, was astonishing. Three strokes behind with five holes to play, he sank a 65-foot eagle putt on the final hole to beat Jim Furyk by one shot.

Jimenez, 42, will be hoping for third time lucky in the Maybank Malaysian Open after tying for sixth in each of the past two years.

One of world golf? great characters, the cigar-chomping, wisecracking veteran combines fun on the course with the serious business of winning. He won twice on the European Tour last season and was a four-time winner the year before.

He is nicknamed "The Mechanic" after spending his teenage years working in a garage, but these days has a preference for driving, rather than repairing, high performance cars, especially his gleaming red Ferrari.

Thongchai, one of Asia? best-ever players, has a habit of making history. In 2004, he became the first Thai to win a European Tour event when he captured the Malaysian Open ?a feat so significant the Thai government presented him with a diplomatic passport.

Then in February last year, he repeated the victory, making him the first Asian ever to retain a European Tour title. Next month, he will be going for an astonishing hat-trick.

Thongchai turned professional late as he served as a ranger in the Royal Thai Army, regularly making parachute drops. He was allowed to play plenty of golf and enjoyed a distinguished amateur career. When he was younger he represented his home province in football.

Zhang, 40, the trailblazer for Chinese golf, has five Asian Tour successes to his credit and string of victories over some world-class players. He made history in 2004 when he earned a rare invitation to play in the US Masters, making him the first Chinese player to tee up at Augusta National.

While many eyes will be on these four stars, a talent-packed field will offer a stern challenge with Malaysia? Danny Chia keen to make an impact in his home tournament.

The February 16-19 Malaysian Open will mark a new era for the tournament with Maybank signing on as title sponsor in an agreement that lasts through 2010. With Maybank? support, the event will be beamed "live" all over Asia and Europe to an audience of more than 500 million households.

It will also be the first time the tournament has been held at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. The club boasts two par-72 championship golf courses, the East Course and the West Course, both designed by Canadian Neil Haworth from Nelson Haworth, the company that also designed the Bali Golf and Country Club in Nusa Dua, Bali and the Shan-Shui Golf and Country Club in Tawau, Sabah.