First round highlights of WGC-HSBC Champions tournament
Francesco Molinari surged to lead in the first round of WGC-HSBC Champions tournament, which was staged at the par-71 Sheshan International Golf Club, Shanghai.
All went against the expectations of the golf fraternity as the limelight was on the top four players of the world. However, the younger of the Molinari’s took the charge of the field and stole the media attention within first
few hours of the tournament. Molinari, who finished in the top 10 last year, carded a score of 7-under-65 with the help of seven birdies.
The exotic drama started from the 10th tee when Francesco decided to use the back-nine as the battleground. The Italian parred his first three holes as a warm up and reeled two consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th to
take the score down to 2-under-par. In golf, going down the score lane is a good sign and this is what the crowd apprehended. On the next hole, Francesco smashed one more birdie at par-four-16th to wrap the first half at a score of under-three.
The front-nine session started with a similar strategy as Molinari parred the first two holes, but chipped a birdie at the par-four-third to kick-start into lead. Three more birdies on the 4th, 6th and 8th took
the player straight to the top. However, on the last hole, the Ryder Cup player attempted a birdie putt, but the shot stopped few inches away from the pin hence the leader had to suffice on seven-under-par.
"Conditions were perfect, so I knew the scoring was a bit lower than maybe what everybody was expecting," said Molinari. "You know, I played well. I putted well. So everything seems in the right place at the moment."
On the other hand, Lee Westwood, who surged into the highest spot of the world rankings on Sunday, chased the leader with a gap of one stroke. The Englishman shot a six-under- 66 to take the lone place behind the Italian star.
With threats posing at his number one rank, Lee Westwood was not at all worried. In fact, he was composed and took the chase as a part of the whole process.
Speaking to the press he said, "It's only the first round of tournament and my main focus is on trying to win this HSBC Champions event, so I didn't really go out there with any particular thought to performing like the world No.
1 really.”
Meanwhile, the former world number one gave an outstanding performance to aggravate the position of Lee Westwood. Tiger Woods carded four-under-68 to take a share in the fourth place with Pablo Martin and Luke Donald. Commenting
on his performance, Tiger Woods said that he reached the top with consistency and hard work. However, he could not keep up with his pace. Thereby, he lost his spot and came down to number two.
According to the experts, if Tiger Woods wins the title worth purse of $7 million, he will replace Lee Westwood automatically. Not only Woods, but also the same task can by performed by Phil Mickelson and Martin Kaymer. In fact,
predictions are that Westwood’s reign will be the shortest as he will not be able to retain it with a sore leg and tough competition.
Defending champion Phil Mickelson kicked off with a three-under-69 on Thursday, while Race to Dubai leader Martin Kaymer hardly managed to stay in the realms of par.
The order of merit leader, Noh Seung-yul vaulted five-under-par to take a share in the third place, whereas, Ryo Ishikawa took the 35th place by remaining steadfast on the par.
Sheshan International Golf Club, Shanghai has been conquered by Francesco Molinari in the first round of the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. However, what happens next is the question that needs pondering. According to
the expert’s opinion, Francesco will not be able to stay in the lead owing to his inconsistent momentum and a player out of the top 15 will surge up in the second round.
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