Injured Rose was '50-50' for HK Open defence

Justin Rose on Wednesday said he had been close to pulling out of this week's Hong Kong Open title defence after a back injury laid him low.

The Olympic champion was in doubt after the injury forced him to abandon last week's Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas after just one round.

It was the 36-year-old Englishman's only competitive round of golf in two months, after he took a break to rest an ongoing back complaint.

"Sure, I've been worried about my participation the last few days," Rose told reporters. "Making the trip was 50-50 at one point last week."

He added: "It's not ideal to come in here slightly undercooked preparation-wise but I'm hoping that the fact that I've been diligent and careful the last few days is going to allow me to be competitive for all four days."

Rose said his driving could be affected by his back condition, but he was hopeful the relatively short Fanling course would work in his favour.

"You know, you never really forget how to compete," he said. "This is a golf course I've played enough now to be able to see it blind this week, so to speak." 

Rose isn't the only player with fitness concerns in Hong Kong, which opens the European Tour's 2017 season and concludes the Asian Tour schedule for 2016. 

Masters champion Danny Willett is coming off a two-week break to recover from a bad back and 2010 winner Ian Poulter returned from five months out in October.

- Reed riding high -

England's Willett, 29, skipped the World Cup in Melbourne and the British Masters to rest his back, but he said his recovery remained a "work in progress".

"I don't think there are many guys who could say they are 100 percent all the time, purely because of how much travel we do, sleeping in different beds and trying to play a sport that doesn't quite fit with the natural movement in the body," he said.

Poulter, 40, made a last-minute dash to Hong Kong from his home in Florida last year when he realised his European Tour membership was about to lapse.

He has had a less frenetic build-up to this year's event -- but said his long lay-off had left him a little "rusty", especially with his putting. 

One leading player who is injury-free is the big-hitting American Patrick Reed, 26, who tied for third last year at the venerable Fanling course.

Reed said the USA's Ryder Cup victory in October would add extra spice to exchanges with his European rivals when they tee off on Thursday.

"The US side is a little more vocal this year!" he said. "It was in desperate need for the US to win this past year, it had been so one-sided, we needed to get that spark back."

Australia's Scott Hend is expected to seal the Asian Tour's order of merit title, while Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez is seeking a fifth victory in Hong Kong.

Source: AFP