LI, Haotong CHN -8

Round two at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA was another sublime day of golf and has le the tournament perfectly poised as we head into moving day.

The Championship Village was a picture of glitz and glamour as women from across the UAE turned up to take part in the annual ‘best dressed competition’. Judged by a selection of high-class fashionistas, the victor won two business class flights to any Etihad destination, one nights stay for two at the Shangri La, Qarayat plus spa vouchers and the wonderland brunch.

The fi rst leg of the inaugural E-Tour competition also proved to be a phenomenal success. Eight competitors representing America, Germany, Spain, Brazil and Romania took part in an exhilarating battle with the eventual champion claiming the $10,000 fi rst prize.

As per the fi rst two days, there are a multitude of activities taking place today in the Village. The HSBC Future Falcons, an initiative that aims to inspire and engage young children to be the next generation of golfi ng talent in the UAE, will get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to take part in a Pro-Am round with several

His Excellency Aref Al Awani

General Secretary, Abu Dhabi Sports Council

professionals, having already had the chance to play alongside world No.1 Brooks Koepka and the talented Eddie Pepperell.

Following the Pro-Am, the HSBC Future Falcons will join up with their relatives to compete in the inaugural family golf competition. The kids will undoubtedly be keen to win bragging rights against their mums and dads and crown themselves the best in the family.

Due to popular demand, the Trick Shot boys are back again and will be starting at 11am. If you want to see the boys tee o from a unicycle, then the Championship Village is the place to be.

The tournament is only possible with the support of all our partners whom I would like to thank, including HSBC, Emirates Global Aluminium, Rolex, Etihad Airways, Nike, Lincoln Motor Company and the wonderful Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri. Their constant supp ort enables us to ensure that guests have an unforgettable experience, from the intimate spectator experience to the exceptional activities at the Championship Village. Enjoy your day with us.

If you’re joining us for the fi rst time this year, a warm welcome to you and if you’re returning, welcome back for what has been a thrilling Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA so far.

This week it’s been great to see two graduates of one of our junior golf programmes perform so well – 24-year-old Haotong Li and 19-year-old amateur, Yuxin Lin, both opened with under par scores and, as I write this, Haotong is nestled in the upper reaches of the leaderboard. When we set up the CGA-HSBC China Junior Golf Program over a decade ago, this is exactly what we were aiming for – building a sustainable longterm structure and framework for the future of Chinese golf. Things are really heading in the right direction.

That same ambition underpins all the grassroots golf initiatives we support as a bank.

Here in Abu Dhabi, we have invested in the future of UAE golf with our very own HSBC Future Falcons Junior Golf Programme, which has made a real impact in the region by getting young people involved in golf.

The HSBC Future Falcons is a programme which has a focus on guiding children on their fi rst steps in

Abdulfattah Sharaf

Chief Executive O cer of HSBC UAE

the sport in a fun way. The programme has introduced nearly 80,000 children to the game of golf for the fi rst time through hundreds of hours of coaching, with 95% of participants receiving their fi rst taste of golf through the programme.

This is why the HSBC Future Falcons programme is so important to us. A joint initiative with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC), the programme aims to educate, engage and inspire youngsters in a bid to unearth the next generation of UAE golfi ng talent.

The programme has helped to establish the fi rst schools golf league in the Emirate and, with an active programme in over 30 schools in Abu Dhabi, the future is bright. We are very proud of this and look forward to seeing young careers blossom in the years ahead – it won’t be long until some of our HSBC Future Falcons members are teeing-o alongside today’s golfi ng stars.

If the HSBC Future Falcons Junior Golf programme has grabbed your attention and you are 4-16 years of age, head to the HSBC Fan Village where you can fi nd out more information.

Poor timing

The way Brooks Koepka started o his second round on Friday like he le o the fi rst one on Thursday, it looked like the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship might be a foregone conclusion.

But golf doesn’t work like that, not even for the world No.1. A er his care and bogey free 66 to open 2020, Koepka squandered a fast, second-round start on The National to sign for an uncharacteristically messy 75.

The three-over loop, including two double bogeys, saw the 29-year-old American plummet from third to a share of 35th at -3 for the championship. He’s not out of it seven strokes behind Italian pacesetter Francesco Laporta but dangerously close to being so if he can’t get his new TaylorMade SiM driver to start cooperating quickly.

It all looked so easy a er Koepka birdied the 1st from some deep, right-hand rough before very nearly holing his second shot on the 2nd. A er eventually two putting for a birdie to get to -8, the Ryder Cupper was just one o the lead at the time.

But there is evidently some ring rust a er all following Koepka’s three months on the sidelines recuperating from surgery to his pivotal le knee. Not that he seems overly fazed by his wayward big stick.

“Just my timing was a bit o . Didn’t hit that many good shots the last 15 holes. Good on the fi rst two but other than that, it was a bit of a disaster. Going to go to the range and just fi gure it out,” he said.

Apparently it will be an easy fi x too, the help of coach Claude Harmon III who is in town this week not necessarily required.

“I know what I’m doing. It’s just timing. It will take 15 balls. Yeah, it’s a lot di erent on the golf course trying to do it because there are consequences,” Koepka said.

“You just try to fi nd your go-to shot and try to hit that go-to shot [when struggling with the driver]. I hit a few of them, and then tried go back to hitting a normal shot and found a couple of fairway bunkers and couldn’t even fi nd the fairways, so it was di cult.”

Did your surgically repaired knee play any role in the mostly le , but also sometimes right, misses?

“No, no. I don’t know, everybody likes to make an excuse. It’s just me.”

So we can expect the real Koepka to show up again on moving day, then?

“Yeah, obviously be o a little earlier, so probably no wind, shoot a low one and then we’ll see. We’ll see where Sunday ends up.” - Kent Gray

INVALUABLE EXPERIENCE

Josh Hill might have missed the cut in his bittersweet European Tour debut but there will be no weekend o for the teen.

Another uncooperative day with his driver stymied any chance the 15-year-old Dubai amateur had of recovering from an opening 74, a Friday score two worse sending him home +6 for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in a share on 117th place in the 132-strong fi eld.

Hill missed the cut by seven strokes but that only served to send him back to Dubai doubly determined to show what he is made of at next week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

Asked what he had learned from his second round 76, Hill retorted: “I learned that Mattias [Austrian playing partner Mattias Schwab who is -4] is a good putter. He holed everything. So I’m going to go away and hit a lot of drives and hit a lot of putts and hopefully that will improve for next week.

“You can’t really miss fairways around here. As soon as you miss a fairway you’re out of position and you’re struggling to make pars and that’s what happened today and yesterday. But that’s been the story for the past 18 months so I need to start working really hard on my driving.”

Hill will still take much from the week, the highlight of which was a partial practice round with Brooks Koepka where the teen beat the world No.1.

“It’s been really fun, it’s been a great experience playing with Charl [former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel] and Mattias. Disappointing the way I’ve played but I’ve learnt a lot from it and hopefully I can take that into next week.

“I feel I handled the pressure or the expectation quite well, feeling nervous on the fi rst tee and just getting out there and having fun. So I’m pretty happy in some places but overall I’m a bit disappointed.

“I’m really looking forward to next week because I feel like I can compete with these guys when I hit fairways. I keep saying…hit fairways and hole putts.” – Kent Gray

With his broken English, transcribes from Haotong Li interviews promise two things: the answers will be short and sweet and, more o en than not, leave you wanting more from one of the most interesting characters on the European Tour.

It‘s not hard to decipher what the Chinese star is trying to say but you’d love a bit more meat on the bone to do his best rounds justice, a deeper personal insight to give added colour to all the red on his scorecard.

A bit of statistical research helps to fi ll in the gaps where quotes from other players articulate the day’s proceedings but be careful, there can be holes in fi rst-hand facts from Li too.

Like how the 24-year-old said on Friday he thought he’d missed the cut at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship the past three years. Turns out it’s not as bad as Li thought – he’s only missed the weekend the previous two years. The good news is there will be no repeat in 2020 with Li right in the mix for a third European Tour title at the 15th Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship a er rounds of 67-69.

The ever-smiling Chinese pro has a particular liking for desert golf, if not Abu Dhabi Golf Club until this week. He won the Dubai Desert Classic in 2018 and was runner-up to Dustin Johnson at the inaugural Saudi International last Feb. Li’s year nosedived a er he fi nished fourth at the China Open (the event he won for his maiden European Tour title at in 2016) with just one other top 15 following since May last year. But plenty of grind on the range with his coach seems to have the world No. 69 back on track.

“Yes, I did a lot up-and-down, and short game has been improved a lot. I think that’s how I get this result,” Li said a er his second round 69 and just two bogeys in his opening 36 holes le him at -8, just two shots o Francesco Laporta’s halfway lead.

“I’ve been work very, very hard, and especially with my coach and whole team, and change management company, as well. It’s a lot of change this year, but glad to see everything works.”

The goal now is to kick on, hopefully this week but defi nitely this year as he looks to return to the top-50 of the world rankings to get himself back into all the majors and World Golf Championship events.

“Yes, for sure. This is my biggest goal for sure and just want to play solid like this, and I think I will be back soon.” – Kent Gray

Love-Li to make the weekend