A look back at the Round-one of WGC-HSBC Champions
It was an eventful day altogether, despite the fact that two of the biggest names of the sport – Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy – were not in the field.
Adam Scott and Luis Oosthuizen took early ascendency in the tournament after shooting 7-under 65s. They led the event by just one stroke and following them were Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Shane Lowry and Peter Hanson.
"It was a solid day that all of a sudden turned into a really good day," Scott said. "With five par-5s, it kind of sets up well for my game and the plan is to just take advantage of the 5s and hopefully hang in there with the leaders all week".
Oosthuizen had the best of the days, as he carded a flawless round on Thursday, whereas Adam Scott had to deal with the lone bogey right at the end of his round.
"If I can keep doing what I'm doing on the par-5s, you know, hitting the fairways and leaving myself with the irons or a 5-wood or something, you've got a good chance," Oosthuizen said.
The two time champion of the tournament, Phil Mickelson, was right in his groove, as he shot a brilliant round of 6-under 66. Phil is currently tied at T3, along with Bubba Watson, Shane Lowry and Peter Hanson.
Interestingly, Phil was hitting some big booming drives with precision, which really set the day up for him. Bubba Watson’s round of 66 was very eventful indeed, as he shot seven birdies, three bogeys and an eagle.
Peter Hanson continued his good run of form from the BMW Masters, where he toppled the world number one Rory McIlroy. The Swede shot seven birdies in his round of 66.
"It's nice to get off to a good start, of course, coming off last week,” Hanson said.
Luke Donald and the defending champion Martin Kaymer had more cautious starts, as they opened up with 4-under 68.
One thing which was common in their rounds was that all of them took advantage of the five par-5 holes at the Olazabal Course. The key to success at the course lies on these five holes.
The player who will benefit the most from these holes will go on to win the WGC-HSBC Champions.
Those who did not have the best of days were either very sluggish or they failed to take advantage of these crucial five holes.
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