Westwood shows his teeth to Tiger at HSBC Champions
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Francesco managed another rare feat only last month, when Europe's Ryder Cup team featured two brothers playing alongside each other for the first time in decades. Edoardo Molinari is if anything in even hotter form than Francesco at the moment, so both brothers will feel a little disappointed at their performances in the world's greatest team golf event, but both have put any negative thoughts behind them in recent events.
Edoardo is here in Shanghai this week as well – he finished on level-par. And both brothers know what it is to win in China. They teamed up to win the World Cup for Italy at Mission Hills in Shenzhen last year.
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First-day leader Francesco Molinari relaxes in the wake of a splendid 65. |
"Today was obviously a good round," said Francesco. "Conditions were perfect, so I know the scoring was a bit lower than maybe what everybody was expecting. The course is in great shape so the greens were rolling absolutely pure. And you know, I played well. I putted well. So everything seems in the right place at the moment."
Keen to maximize spectator excitement, the organizers served up some spectacular threesomes. Woods played with Els and McDowell, and only two groups later they were followed by Westwood, Mickelson and Yang, who carded one of four eagles scored on the day when he holed out from 130 yards with his approach shot on the par-5 8th. As if to emphasise the abundance of riches, the group in between featured Kaymer and Paul Casey – overlooked for the European Ryder Cup despite lying in the world's top ten at the time – and a certain Hunter Mahan, one of the American debutants in their Ryder Cup team, and one who acquitted himself particularly well.
Westwood is still suffering from problems with his calf, which requires ice treatment in his hospital room in the evening. "As the round goes on it starts to ache a bit," he said. "And I start to feel like it gets a little bit sort of sloppy and I lose control and power a bit."
Which makes it all the more astonishing that he was one of the very few players to go for the green in 2 on the massive par-5 8th – his 17th of the day. His boldness was rewarded – although he missed the green left, he was down in two for one of his pair of closing birdies.
On his new status, he had this to say: "I think the World Rankings are reflective of how competitive world golf is at the moment. Nobody is out and out world No. 1. I think that's partly to do with Tiger not having played quite so well this year, and partly to do with Tiger having made everybody else elevate their games. He's a victim almost of his own brilliance - that, you know, we've all had to work harder and we have closed the gap I guess."
Tiger Woods fielded questions about his fall to No. 2 by emphasizing that his priority is first and foremost to win tournaments rather than focus on his ranking status: "I got to No. 1 in the world by winning golf tournaments, and I've had that sustainability for a number of years by doing that That's how you have to do it. Unfortunately I haven't done it this year. So I've dropped to No. 2. But the reason we tee up is to win it on the week."
Phil Mickelson was in good spirits after his 3-under, although he dropped a couple of shots on the 11th and the 1st. "It was fun to get back into competition," he said. "I haven't played in a month, since The Ryder Cup. This is a golf course that I enjoy very much. Could have played better, but I'll certainly take a 69 the first round, and I'm looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow and making some birdies. The course is in great shape as always, and I think the players are enjoying it. I know I am."
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