The final leaderboard would have looked at home at Doral or Firestone as the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai thoroughly lived up to its new World Golf Championships status.
WGC events reliably identify the best players in the world - that's why Tiger Woods has won 17 of the 32 that have been played.
But in China an out of sorts Woods could only manage a share of sixth place after suffering a front-nine meltdown in the dream final group alongside eventual champion Phil Mickelson, who claimed his second WGC title of the year.
'Lefty' took the title at the end of a thrilling final day that proved big time golf is at home in Asia. The Sheshan course stood up to the test and a unique atmosphere had, at times, the intensity of a major.
Read the rest of this entry
Confidence is a wonderful commodity and Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher have it in abundance as they prepare to tee it up here in Shanghai.
Poulter is aiming at breaking into the world's top 10 before the end of the season; Fisher believes he now has what it takes to turn near misses in majors into victories of substance.
And why not? Both have just recorded highly impressive wins and feel ready to take on a field headed by the world's top two at the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament at the Sheshan International Golf Club.
Yes Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are in town and the circus that follows is something to behold. It goes with the territory when you are at the top of the game and that's where Poulter and Fisher are firmly setting their sights.
Read the rest of this entry
Early next week, there will be a change to how you leave comments on this blog - we're upgrading our current registration system to a new and improved one. When you log in to the new system, you will be prompted to upgrade your existing account, and you should be able to do that with a minimum of fuss. More details on this can be found on the BBC Internet Blog.
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~31~RS~)