Jaidee wins the Ryder Cup debate
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For a long time it looked like Liang Wenchong and Spain's Pablo Arrazabal would hold the lead at the end of the first day's play in the 2010 Volvo China Open at the Jinji Lake International Club in Suzhou. Liang and Arrazabal were among the very early starters in the competition, and both played rounds of seven birdies and one bogey to lie at six-under on 66.
A cluster of top-class names lay just behind them, including former tournament winner Irishman Damien McGrane on 67, with Sweden's Henrik Stenson together with his playing partner Yang Yong-eun of Korea, the current US PGA title holder and the first Asian man to win a Major, a stroke further back on 68.
There was little change at the top of the leaderboard until late into the afternoon, when Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee knocked his approach very close on the short par-4 16th and sank the putt to go to seven-under. He did the same thing on the very next hole, the difficult par-3 17th, and all of a sudden found himself in a two-shot lead.
And that was that, we thought, right up until the very last shot of the day, played by the 21-year old Kim Do-hoon of Korea. Kim had birdied his last two holes, and everyone on the course thought he had gone to six-under. It wasn't till he reached the scorer's tent that it became apparent that as early as his fifth hole of the day, the par-5 14th, Kim's eagle had been attributed by the on-course scorer to one of his playing partners. Kim was actually in the joint lead at 8-under.
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Korean youngster Kim Do-hoon tees off for what would prove to be an eventful round. [China.org.cn] |
The youngster was unfazed by the drama. He won last week in Korea, and this was the third time he had shot 64 in as many tournaments. He will definitely be worth watching over the next three days.
The unusual Gary Player-designed layout at the Jinji Club is built of three sets of nine holes each, one parkland, one wetland, and one very effective Scottish links-style course that is all walled bunkers, moss, and heavy rough. The Volvo China Open is being played over the wetland and links holes, and the weather on Day 1 would have been more than familiar to anyone who has suffered in Scotland.
It started windy, with the temperature barely above freezing, thawed very slightly around lunchtime, and by the end of the afternoon had the final groups blowing into their hands, pulling their wooly hats firmly down around their ears, and thinking longingly of the clubhouse showers.
It is to Jaidee's great credit that he managed to negotiate the conditions so well. He had to pull out of last week's Masters in the first round, having injured his arm on the 5th hole, and he took the precaution of playing only two holes in practice for this competition.
His playing group carried a little extra spice through the presence of Corey Pavin and Colin Montgomerie, the respective US and European captains for the forthcoming Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in Wales this autumn. Although Jaidee took the overall bragging rights, Pavin was the undisputed winner of the Ryder head-to-head, with a bogey-free round of 67 that leaves him very much in contention.
Monty had a dreadful start with a double and a bogey in his first five holes, but he had dragged himself to two-under by the final hole when another double ruined all his good work and took him back to level-par. Unfortunately, as is too often the case these days, he is likely to find himself scrabbling among those struggling to make the cut.
Another player attracting a lot of attention was the Chinese youngster Zhang Jin. At 14 years and 5 months Zhang became the youngest player to qualify for the Volvo China Open when he successfully negotiated gale-force winds to win the Honghua Club qualifier in Beijing. If he makes the cut he will be the youngest player ever to achieve this feat in a European Tour event.
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14-year old Zhang Jin watches his ball carefully on the 6th. It would finish fifteen inches from the hole.[China.org.cn] |
For his first eight holes Zhang played like a veteran. His amateur status hung by a thread when he hit a particularly fine tee shot into a testing breeze to about fifteen inches on the par-3 6th, where a hole-in-one offers a very nice Volvo motor car. The shot was all the better in the light of the fact that his two experienced playing partners, Lara of Spain and Korea's Oh, both push-sliced their shots into the rough and miles short of the hole.
Zhang reached the ninth tee on two-under. He looked well in control of his game at that point, and sure to make the cut. Unfortunately bogeys on 9, 14, and 18 took him to a final score of 73, but he is still around what is likely to be the cut score, and may yet have a weekend's work ahead of him.
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