HONG KONG (PA) -- Nick Faldo dusts off his golf clubs this week as he prepares for his first European Tour event in over a year at the UBS Hong Kong Open.

The 51-year-old Englishman has endured an eventful year off the course during which he suffered the disappointment of leading Europe to its first Ryder Cup defeat to the USA in nine years.

Faldo came under heavy criticism for some of his decision-making before and during the competition at Valhalla. But the three-time Masters champion insists he has no regrets about the experience and is instead focused on playing when he tees off at the Hong Kong Golf Club.

Faldo has fond memories of Hong Kong, having won the Johnnie Walker Classic here in 1990. It is clearly a place he enjoys, with his last competitive appearance coming at the UBS Hong Kong Open last year.

And Faldo stressed that although he does relish the rare opportunity to get out on the golf course, his regular playing days are firmly behind him.

"I don't miss it now," he added. "I've been in television now for four years, so I've come off the golf course. "I'm 51, so I'm quite happy. I had my playing days, and I've moved on to do other things.

"I haven't played since last year competitively and I think I'm struggling to get 10 rounds of golf and probably 10 hours of practice," he added. "It's been a busy year this year obviously with television and Ryder Cup, but I'm glad to be back out on the golf course for a bit of fun this week."

The UBS Hong Kong Open is the second official event in the European Tour's inaugural Race to Dubai.

The top 60 in the Race to Dubai qualify for next fall's Dubai World Championship, which has a lucrative prize fund of $10 million and a first prize of $3.6million. And Faldo believes it heralds an exhilarating new era for European golf.

"It is very exciting," he said. "I think this is the opportunity that's been created by America -- we discussed a couple years ago at one of the meetings, America stopping their season in September.

"It's given Europe an opportunity from October, November and December to have a short window in the world of golf, and they have taken advantage of that," he added. "I think it should be a great event."

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