Charles McLaughlin, Daniel Wong, Kimi Tai, Getty Images
NUMBERS GAME
The Open in Review
15
0
2
54
1
3
The cost of a pint of Stella Artois, the official beer of the tournament, on the Hong Kong Golf Club’s terrace during the Hong Kong Open. That’s right. For those lucky enough to gain entry to the most sociable corner of the Fanling property, free beer was the order of the day.
The number of Hong Kong players that made the half-way cut. Six local players started the tournament, but only Timothy Tang made it through to the weekend action. England’s Edward Richardson, who won the Hong Kong Open Amateur Championship a month earlier to book his berth in the tournament, also missed the cut.
36
HK Golfer・DEC 2012
The number of bogeys that tournament winner Miguel Angel Jiménez made during the week. The Spaniard dropped shots at the ninth and 10th holes during the first round – his 17th and 18th of the day – before keeping his scorecard for the final three rounds blemish-free. Incredible!
With his victory, Jiménez joins the legendary Peter Thomson as the only players in Hong Kong Open history to have claimed the title on three occasions. Only Taiwan’s Hsieh Yong-yo, with four victories (1963, 1964, 1975 and 1978), has more.
4.33
T h e s co r ing aver ag e at the first hole during the week, making it the hardest hole at the Hong Kong Golf Club. Only 23 birdies were made at the par-4 opener, which normally plays as a par-5 for the club’s membership, while 143 bogeys and 14 double bogeys were also recorded.
8
World number one Rory McIlroy made this many bogeys – and a gruesome four-putt double bogey – on his way to missing the halfway cut during his title defence. McIlroy, who blamed a stone-cold putter for his travails, managed only five birdies in 36 holes.
HKGOLFER.COM
The number of eagles that were recorded at the par-5 13th hole, which played as the easiest hole during the tournament. The hole averaged 4.45 shots. The only other par-5 on the course – the third – was the second easiest, averaging 4.8 strokes. The 2012 Hong Kong Open was the 54th edition of the event. The tournament, which was won by Taiwan’s Lu Liang-huan – the famed “Mr Lu” – in its inaugural edition back in 1959, is Hong Kong’s oldest professional sporting event.
274
Zhang Lian-wei’s four-round total – six-under-par – after a memorable week at Fanling. The 47-year-old former Chinese number one rolled back the years with opening rounds of 66, 66 and 69 to find himself well in the title hunt before a disappointing 73 on the last day dropped him into a share of 15th.
HKGOLFER.COM
339
Was Michael Campbell’s world ranking heading into the Hong Kong Open. The 40-year-old New Zealander, who won the US Open in 2005, shared the third-round lead with Jiménez before dropping into a share of eighth after a closing 73. He rose to 288 following his Fanling display, having started the year in 805th.
6,734
The length, in yards, that the Composite Course played during the week of the Hong Kong Open, making it the shortest track on the European Tour calendar. Not that it’s relative lack of length made scoring easy to come by. Jimenez’s winning score of 15-under-par was eight shots higher than McIlroy’s victory one week later at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. The Irishman was 23-under over a course that measured over 900 yards longer.
10,000
T he amount, in US$, that England’s Steve Webster received from tournament sponsor UBS following his hole-in-one at the par-3 12th during the second round. Webster used a gap-wedge from 137 yards for the only ace of the event.
Clockwise from opposite: Jiménez made only two bogeys all week at Fanling; a rejeuvanted Michael Campbell did his world ranking a power of good; McIlroy missed his first cut since the US Open in June; Zhang's 73 on the final day saw him drop into a share of 15th; the long par-4 first hole played as the most difficult on the course; Webster receives his hole-in-one cheque from Caroline Darcy of UBS; Tang was the only local competitor to make it through to the weekend; Jimenez joins the legendary Peter Thomson as a three-time Hong Kong Open champion HK Golfer・DEC 2012
37