Of particular disappointment to local hopes is that of 36 Chinese starters, only 3 have made the cut. The three, whom one might well have predicted before play started to finish best-placed of the Chinese contingent, are Liang Wenchong, Zhang Lianwei, and Wu Ashun. All are on 2-over, and Zhang Lianwei will take over the baton of partnering Colin Montgomerie from a no-doubt relieved Liang Wenchong.

Zhang Lianwei chases birdies - Later at the Media Dinner he was presented with an award for being the only player to have participated in all 15 China Open competitions. [David Ferguson / China.org.cn]

So tight is the field – 73 players made the cut – that if Choi slips up over the weekend then no one is really out of the running. With the cut at 4-over, only eight strokes separate second place from last. Anyone who can string together two 67s could find themselves in contention come Sunday evening, but to shoot scores like that on a course like this will be fiendishly difficult, and will require more than a healthy stroke of luck.

Shot of the day: Well, it nearly was. Richard Finch found a perfect lie in the center of the macadammed pathway on 5. So smooth was the ground that he considered playing the ball from where it lay. Ultimately he changed his mind and dropped in the rough. It was a good decision – he greened his pitch and sank a 20-footer for birdie.

Shot of the day: To play, or not to play... Richard Finch wonders whether to play his ball from the pathway. [David Ferguson / China.org.cn]

(China.org.cn April 18, 2009)