0811FortisInternational

Tour Diary

A Week

Fortis International Challenge

at the

Hong Kong’s goal was clear: finish in the top three and earn a place at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup. HK Golfer travelled to Kuala Lumpur to cover their progress

Worldly ambitions: Hong Kong’s Freeman and Fung on the tee (left); Eduardo Molinari, the former U.S. Open champion, representing Italy.

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lthough there’s no prize money at stake, the Fortis International Challenge has serious cachet. Finish in the top three and you earn a berth at the US$5.5 million Omega Mission Hills World Cup where even the last-placed team picks up a cheque for US$50,000. And while all the teams are keen to stress the importance of representing their countries, you can be sure that thoughts of a guaranteed big money pay day haven’t passed any of them by.

Hong Kong’s chances of qualifying, on the face of things, look reasonable. Represented

by David Freeman and Derek Fung, the pair makes an interesting combination. Fung has the experience, having played at the World Cup in 1996 and 2003, while Freeman was a full-time instructor before earning his Asian Tour card last year. Their games are also a contrast of styles. Freeman is up there with the longest hitters on Tour, while Fung, now 39, is more of a plotter. Regardless, Fung is in upbeat mood. “I’ve been around, I know what it’s all about,” he says. “David hits it as far as Tiger Woods and I’m hitting it pretty good too. I think different styles work well in team events.”

Outside of the World Cup itself, the Fortis International Challenge has to be one of the most cosmopolitan tournaments around. Of the seventeen teams here this week, twelve are from Asia, four are from Africa and Europe is represented by the Molinari brothers of Italy.

The opinion emanating from the media centre is that none of the African teams stand a chance and that Italy, Korea and hosts Malaysia look the most likely candidates to progress.

It’s hard to argue with that prediction, although given the vagaries of the foursomes (alternate shot) format, which the teams will play in the second and final rounds, anything can happen.

The stars of the event are undoubtedly Francesco and Eduardo Molinari. Francesco, who won the 2007 Italian Open, has just come off a second place at the Mercedes Benz Championship, one of the biggest events on the European Tour, while Eduardo has started to show the same kind of form that won him the prestigious US Amateur title in 2005.

They’re undoubtedly classy players and genuinely nice guys, but perhaps not the kind of players journalists go to when in need of an insightful quote. “We’re going to go out and try to do our best,” Francesco tells HK Golfer. Yawn.

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the duo’s woeful 73 puts them in a tie for last place with Uganda. The Malaysian press can’t understand it, and nor can anyone else for that matter. Very odd.

Day Two Foursomes

Day One Fourballs

Heaven and hell (clockwise from top): the Molinari brothers celebrate; the Nigerians were the surprise package of the tournament; Korea showed their class.

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Hong Kong ran into a bit of trouble before a ball had even been hit. Driving himself and Freeman to the picturesque Kota Permai Golf Club, the venue for the week, Fung took a wrong turn off the highway and promptly got lost. “We weren’t sure where we were so we had to make a few calls,” said Freeman. “Thank God for cell phones,” added Fung.

Not that that little hiccup affected their performance in the first round of fourballs.

Cruising along at four-under-par for the day, the duo reached the eighteenth, a long parfive, where Freeman hammered a brilliant 5-wood from 258 yards to within seven feet of the pin to set up an eagle. “Pretty happy with that,” grinned Freeman afterwards. “We let ourselves down a few times during the round, so it was important to finish the way we did.”

Undoubtedly the shot of the day, it helped the duo into a share of second place with Singapore on 6-under. The Koreans are looking ominously good though. Their 63 puts them three shots clear at the top of the leaderboard.

The biggest shock of the day was the erratic performance of the Malaysian pair of Iain Steel and Danny Chia. Playing on home turf,

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Not a good day. After the heroics of yesterday, Hong Kong’s chances of qualification took a nosedive after an ugly 78 in the foursomes. Only Ghana, with a 79, scored worse. But the most gutwrenching part is that they didn’t actually play too badly. “It was crazy,” said a clearly frustrated Freeman. “We probably only hit three bad shots all day, but we couldn’t hole a putt. The score really didn’t reflect the way we played.” Indeed. But as Peter Allis is fond of saying, that’s foursomes golf for you. Back to level par for the tournament, Hong Kong now find them lying in tenth spot, six-strokes shy of Nigeria who occupy the allimportant third spot.

Nigeria is proving to be the surprise package of the tournament, and in Oyebanji Gboyega and Odoh Andrew Oche they have two of the nicest and most enthusiastic pro golfers around.

And what’s more, they clearly have game— Odoh, taller and skinnier than the stocky Oyebanji, has won eighteen of the last thirtytwo events on the Nigerian Tour. I have to admit ignorance to the very existence of the Nigerian Tour, but that’s some record nonetheless. “It will go a long way if we make it through,” says Odoh sincerely. “It will create so much awareness back home and people will say I want to be like these guys. It's a good feeling to raise the flag for the country and I'm happy to be a part of this. But we still have two days to go.”

Korea still lead the way after a 72, but their lead has been cut to two. The Philippines fire a solid 70 to lie in second and the Molinari brothers are lurking menacingly in a share of fourth, just two-shots further back. It’s shaping up to be a cracking weekend.

At the top of the leaderboard, the Philippines have taken a one-shot lead over Korea after a stellar 64. Nigeria are three shots further back and looking vulnerable: Oyebanji and Odo have played well again but the Molinari’s, who everyone expects to shine in the final round foursomes, are snapping at their heels and are just one stroke adrift. Not that the Nigerian boys appear overly concerned. “It’s still possible to catch the leaders,” says Odo with commendable optimism. You’ve got to love their attitude.

Whatever happens tomorrow—and without trying to sound too corny about this—they’ve really done their country proud.

Final Day Foursomes Freeman and Fung know what they have to do, and after four holes they’ve put themselves right back in contention after carding two early birdies.

But the putts stop dropping and their round stagnates following a string of pars. After failing to birdie the seventh, a par-five that the rest of the field is murdering, the Mission Hills dream starts to fade. Bogies at the tenth and thirteenth deepen the gloom, but they bounce back in great fashion with a brace of birdies at fourteen and fifteen.

But it’s really all too late. They’ve made a great

effort and come up just short. That second round 78 proved to be the killer, as Freeman knows all too well. “We played well and only let ourselves down on one day,” he says. “But overall, we’re going to take a lot of positives out of the week.”

And so they should. Freeman, in particular, was very impressive. Given his ball-striking abilities it’s staggering that he’s not more a factor on the Asian Tour. “In strokeplay tournaments I’m probably not aggressive enough,” he concedes. “In a team event, where you have a partner to back you up, you can really go after your shots and attack the course. I’m going to try and take that attitude out on Tour.”

Day Three Fourballs What a maddening game this is. Hong Kong were flawless today, a fantastic 64 lifting them up into sixth place and only three shots behind the Nigerians who still cling to third. “We ham-andegged it very well today,” says Freeman whose birdie-birdie finish could yet prove crucial. “We’ll need a 67 tomorrow to have any chance…we need to make the putts. We’ve got nothing to lose, so we’re going to go out and be really aggressive.” He’s right, of course, and the good news is that Fung, after some indifferent golf over the first two days, has finally found some form. But is it too late?

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OVERALL TOP TEN 1 Korea* 268 2 Philippines* 271 3 Italy* 274 4 Nigeria 276 5= Singapore 277 Malaysia 277 7= HONG KONG 278 Pakistan 278 9 Myanmar 280 10 Uganda 282 11 Sri Lanka 284 12 Indonesia 285 13 Kenya 288 14 Swaziland 290 15 Bangladesh 293 16 Ghana 294 17 Brunei 301 18 Nepal 302

By the start of the back-nine it’s clear that Korea and the Philippines are going to earn the first two qualifying berths. Racing to the turn in a mere 33 strokes, the Korean duo of Bae Sangmoon and Kim Hyung-tae has the tournament won, while Angelo Que and Mars Pucay have also done enough thanks to their solid play. But it’s the battle for that final spot that has everyone transfixed. Italy, as expected, shows their class under pressure by firing a fine 68 to finish at 14-under. Nigeria isn’t out of it yet however.

Conventional wisdom dictates that Oyebanji and Odo, upon realizing their situation, should fold like a couple of cheap Mongkok suits. But they’ve hung on gamely and by the time they reach the final hole they’re only one shot back. A birdie at the par-five will force a playoff with the

Top three teams qualify for the Omega Mission Hills Word Cup

Fortis frolic (clockwise from top): the Philippines cruised into the World Cup; Uganda’ s Emos Korblah on the dance floor; quite, please; Freeman does the honours.

Junior Development

Molinari brothers. An eagle will seal their place at Mission Hills. Odo, like he’s done all week, stripes it a right down the middle. It’s a great drive and the Molinaris’ know it. Francesco and Eduardo look physically sick. Despite their modesty at the start of the week, they came here fully expecting to book their trip to China. Now they don’t seem so sure.

But then disaster. Oyebanji, with 240 yards to the centre of the green and 3-wood in hand, tops it. He literally tops it 80 yards in front of him. The ball doesn’t get above ankle height.

And worse, it’s finished in an awkward lie beside a fairway bunker. The galleries are stunned, Oyebanji is stunned; the Molinaris’ are stunned.

It’s probably his worst shot the poor guy has hit in his life, and it’s come at the most important moment of his career. It’s nothing short of tragic. Odo can do no more than to hack it up towards the green and when a shell-shocked Oyebanji fails to hole his chip, it’s all over.

China’s New School

Approach The recent success in the HSBC National Junior Golf Championship of pupils from one of China’s first golf boarding schools shows how the partnership between the banking giant and the China Golf Association is driving the development of youth golf in China

BY TIM MAITLAND

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ike all the larger cities in China, Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, which in turn is the home of the Shaolin Temple and the birthplace of Kung Fu, has a brand spanking new airport and a silky smooth highway.

Like all the big Mainland metropolises, new structures—a dramatic aluminium spiral here, a mirrored tower there—seem to be racing each other towards the clouds.

At first glance this city—classified as a second tier or prefecture-level city, and comprising 3.5 million people in its urban area, which ranks it just outside China’s top 10—is a facsimile of the rapid development along the east coast.

But here, a region steeped w it h t he h istor y of t he a ncient Sha ng Dy nast y, roughly in the middle of a triangle between Beijing, Shanghai and the Terracotta A rmy cit y of X i’a n, t he growth is different. Even the big-city visitors from the coast, where foreign involvement and investment is constantly evident, remark that Zhengzhou is “very Chinese”.

It’s hard to put a finger Shi Yuting on why. It is tiny things, HK GOLFER・NOV/DEC 2008

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