BEIJING - Colorful England golfer Ian Poulter is confident he can outlast Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Liang Wenchong to win the seven-day, seven-city Shui On Land China Golf Challenge, which tees off in Shanghai on Monday and runs until Oct 16.

"Who's going to win? I'm going to win," said the ever-confident Poulter, who has won 11 European Tour titles. "Sorry, Lee. Sorry, Liang. Sorry, Rory."

A vital player for Europe in the Ryder Cup, Poulter (pictured) thrives in a competitive environment and in May beat current world No 1 Luke Donald to win the Volvo World Match Play Championship.

The 35-year-old Englishman has also shown a fondness for Asia, winning the Barclays Singapore Open in 2009 and the UBS Hong Kong Open last year, and is excited about the challenge of playing 18 holes over eight courses in seven cities.

"It's going to be very exciting and there should be a huge turnout for the Shui On Land China Golf Challenge. I'm expecting big crowds at every course we play on in each city. It's going to be impressive," said Poulter, who has been ranked as high as No 5 in the world.

"For the players, it's going to be fun to jump on a jet between the different cities and have a laugh. The schedule has a nice blend of different types of courses with different designers, so hopefully it's going to showcase everything about golf in China. It's a big place and I'm sure China has some big ambitions in golf."

The four players will compete over two or three holes at each of eight courses in Shanghai (Oct 10), Zhengzhou (Oct 11), Beijing (Oct 12), Dalian (Oct 13), Chongqing (Oct 14), Dongguan (Oct 15) and Macao (Oct 16). They will also participate in pro-ams and coaching clinics at select venues.

Westwood is the top-ranked competitor in the field as world No 2 and has 22 European Tour titles among his 35 pro wins. Last year, the Englishman was runner-up in the Masters and British Open and in October succeeded Tiger Woods as world No 1, topping the world rankings for 17 weeks.

Westwood, 38, regained the top spot in April after winning the Indonesia Masters, and won the following week's Ballantine's Championship in South Korea before conceding the No 1 spot to compatriot Donald in late May.

McIlroy, 22, will be a star attraction in China following his record-breaking win in the US Open, his first major title. The Northern Irishman recently reached a career-high third in the official world standings.

Liang, whose best finish in a major was eighth at last year's PGA Championship, will have home advantage and the support of the crowds as China's top golfer.

One of golf's most innovative competitions, the Shui On Land China Golf Challenge will be broadcast globally on Golfing World and distributed internationally by IMG Media, while Sina, the largest Chinese-language infotainment web portal, is an official media partner.

China Daily