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.
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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.
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When Tiger Woods lost his first round clash to Shaun Micheel in the 2006 World Matchplay so began a chain of events that led to the current revamping and relocation of the tournament.
There was only one more running of the popular tournament that had been played every year at Wentworth since 1964 in a straight knock-out form.
The fact that the game's biggest draw only managed a single day at the Championship three years ago proved too much for the then sponsors HSBC who had ploughed in record funds. They ended their agreement halfway through a 10-year deal
After all, it was highly unlikely that Woods would be enticed back to the tournament anyway and the risk of losing the biggest names so early in proceedings made it an increasingly unattractive prospect in the modern era.
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I’m Iain Carter and I’m 
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