Westwood to replace Els at challenge

BEIJING - World No 2 Lee Westwood (pictured) has replaced Ernie Els in the Shui On Land China Golf Challenge from Oct 10-16 after the South African withdrew from the week-long, 18-hole event due to personal reasons.

The Englishman's participation means the event boasts two of the world's top four players after Rory McIlroy moved to fourth in the official world golf rankings following his joint-third finish in the Omega European Masters on Sunday.

Westwood, who has already won two titles in Asia this year, joins McIlroy, their Ryder Cup teammate Ian Poulter and Chinese No 1 Liang Wenchong for the innovative, made-for-television tournament.