Win an all-expenses paid trip for two to the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai!

S70B wrote:

Hello Titu I think u should read carefully before you wack in the post.

Xman was asking how is it possible that pinkpanther won without knowing Q2 as he had posted asking for the answer.

I don't think he had any reference to you at all.

Happy Holiday today so pls dun spoil the mood in the forum.

Sori S70B...wrong interpretation as I combined both comments from Sunny and XMan together. My mistake there. Damage control by deleting post before more harm is done.

@ Asahi.....Sori bro my bad. Don't know whats wrong with me leh. Must be my withdrawal symtoms from not playing golf for more than 4 months liao. Going for treatment tomorrow by having my 1st game at Kranji.

titu

MOLINARI MAINTAINS POLE POSITION AT WGC-HSBC CHAMPIONS

Italy’s Francesco Molinari maintained a slender one-shot lead over world number one Lee Westwood of England after carding a two-under-par 70 for a two-day total of nine-under-par 135 at the WGC-HSBC Champions on Friday.

Westwood added a 70 to his opening 66 to trail closely behind the Italian in second place while three-time Major winner Erie Els of South Africa is tied for third with compatriot Van Zyl Jaco and Scotland’s Richie Ramsay after the trio returned with matching 137s at the Sheshan International Golf Club.

Molinari looked set to pull away from the chasing pack with a larger lead after enjoying a blemish-free round in his first eight holes that was marked with birdies on the second, fourth and seventh holes.

A bogey on the par-four ninth followed by another dropped shot on the 12th hole set him back momentarily before he coloured his card with another birdie on the 14th hole.

“I played really well until the ninth hole. Then I started missing a few more shots, but you know, I think today was a little bit trickier as well because the wind was a bit stronger,” said Molinari.

“I probably didn't hit the ball as well as I did yesterday. I had to work a little bit harder to save some pars but all in all, I'm happy with the nine‑under total,” added the Italian.

Westwood continued to underline his new-found stature as the world’s best golfer with another assured performance.

The Englishman carded three birdies on holes eight, 14th and 16th but had his otherwise perfect card spoilt by a lone bogey on the par-four 11th.

“I played quite nicely today. I thought it was a little bit trickier as there was a bit more breeze and the flags were a little more tucked away. Obviously you could still score well but I thought it was a little bit harder,” said the world number one.

With his troubled calf injury slowly recovering, Westwood is now confident of maintaining his charge for the WGC-HSBC Champions title this week.

“It feels better today than it did yesterday, so I'm delighted about that. I felt pretty strong out there, and hopefully it's improving all the time,” said Westwood.

Meanwhile Els who started the day in equal 35th after an opening 72, posted the day’s lowest score of 65 to charge up the leaderboard into contention with the Shanghai showpiece heading into the final weekend rounds.

“Obviously I played really well compared to yesterday, but I thought the greens were a little firmer yesterday. Today I felt they were a little bit softer. But I’ve been more aggressive today and I've been hitting the ball well,” said the South African.

World number two Tiger Woods and defending champion Phil Mickelson of the United States are among the nine players bunched in tied-ninth on matching 140s.

Leading first round scores
135 - Francesco Molinari (ITA) 65-70
136 - Lee Westwood (ENG) 66-70
137 - Richie Ramsay (SCO) 69-68, Jaco Van Zyl (RSA) 71-66, Ernie Els (RSA) 72-65
138 - Luke Donald (ENG) 68-70
139 - Noh Seung-yul (KOR) 67-72, Ross Fisher (ENG) 69-70
140 - Tiger Woods (USA) 68-72, Phil Mickelson (USA) 69-71, Fredrik Andersson Hed (SWE) 69-71, Padraig Harrington (IRL) 70-70, Ian Poulter (ENG) 70-70, Richard S Johnson (SWE) 70-70, Robert Allenby (AUS) 72-68, Nick Watney (USA) 72-68, Richard Green (AUS) 72-68

Selected scores
141 - Andrew Dodt (AUS) 73-68
142 - Adam Scott (AUS) 69-73, Rory Mcilroy (NIR) 71-71
143 - Y. E. Yang (KOR) 69-74, Ryo Ishikawa (JPN) 72-71

For further information, please visit www.hsbcgolf.com

Looks like tiger got not must chance of wrestling his no. 1 back. Looks like Lee is going to be bridesmaid again

Never mind Tiger.
Woah! All kinda of birds were caught over the last three days, even an albatross!
Can hardly wait for the final day.

MOLINARI STAYS AHEAD AT WGC-HSBC CHAMPIONS

Italy’s Francesco Molinari continued his dominance at the US$7 million WGC-HSBC Champions by battling to a five-under-par 67 to take the third round lead on Saturday.

The Italian is well primed for a wire-to-wire victory after compiling a three-day total of 14-under-par 202, one clear of world number one Lee Westwood of England.

Westwood, who is playing in his first tournament since becoming world number one, kept up the pressure on the Italian by trailing closely in second place with a matching 67 at the Sheshan International Golf Club.

Luke Donald of England is in third place after returning with a 68 while compatriot Ross Fisher, three-time Major winner Ernie Els of South Africa and Scotland’s Richie Ramsay are two back in tied-fourth on 208 total.

Molinari started his round convincingly with an opening birdie on the first hole.

He returned that shot with a bogey on the par-three fourth but responded back with birdies on the fifth and eighth holes.

The Italian then coloured his card with another birdie on the10th hole but saw his two-shot lead over Westwood reduced to one after a bogey on the 12th hole.

However a magical eagle two on the par-four 13th immediately brought his game back to life.

“I think it was a really eventful round, and it was a bit of a roller coaster because I hit some great shots and some not‑so‑great shots,” said Molinari.

“It was obviously good to get some shots back on the 13th. There was a bit of luck to hole it but it was also really a good shot that was aimed straight at the flag,” added Molinari of his eagle which he successfully holed from 160 yards with a seven-iron.

With the world number one Westwood chasing him down the stretch, Molinari knew that he had to captialise on his birdie chances in the last five holes of his homeward run to take an outright lead.

The birdie finally came at the closing par-five 18th where Molinari withstood all pressure to hole that all-important putt.

“It was just a really good wedge shot into the green, and I knew that it had to be the putt that would put me in the lead tomorrow. So I just tried to make the best stroke as possible and luckily it went in,” said Molinari.

Meanwhile Westwood continued to step up the pressure on the Italian with a flawless round that was highlighted by five birdies.

It was always going to be a close tussle for the lead with the top three leaders at the top of their game. But with memories of 2007 edition still fresh in his mind, the Englishman is not discounting anyone from lifting the title on the final day.

“I think we both played pretty well. It will be a nice day tomorrow, a good three‑ball between Luke, Francesco and myself. Obviously we’re all playing the best golf out there as we've left a bit of a gap from the people behind,” said Westwood.

“But you don't miscount anybody coming from behind, because I know what it's like. Three years ago, I was 10 behind with 10 holes to play and I got in a playoff.

I’ll just have to concentrate on doing the same things that I’ve done all week,” added Westwood of the final day drama which was eventually won by American Phil Mickelson that year.

Meanwhile Ireland’s Padraig Harrington had the honour of carding the tournament’s first albatross on the par-five 14th.

“I've never had an albatross before so obviously that was the shot of the day for me. I’m too far behind now but you never know as this golf course is tough enough that mistakes can be made and birdies can be made as well,” said the three-time Major winner who will tee off alongside South Africa’s Van Zyl Jaco and Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Noh Seung-yul of Korea in his final round.

Leading third round scores
202 - Francesco Molinari (ITA) 65-70-67
203 - Lee Westwood (ENG) 66-70-67
206 - Luke Donald (ENG) 68-70-68
208 - Richie Ramsay (SCO) 69-68-71, Ernie Els (RSA) 72-65-71, Ross Fisher (ENG) 69-70-69
209 - Jaco Van Zyl (RSA) 71-66-72
210 - Noh Seung-yul (KOR) 67-72-71, Padraig Harrington (IRL) 70-70-70
211 - Fredrik Andersson Hed (SWE) 69-71-71, Paul Casey (ENG) 73-71-67, Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 74-70-67

Selected scores
213 - Tiger Woods (USA) 68-72-73
216 - Phil Mickelson (USA) 69-71-76

For further information, please visit www.hsbcgolf.com

MOLINARI REVELS IN SHANGHAI DELIGHT AT WGC-HSBC CHAMPIONS

Italy’s Francesco Molinari shrugged off the pressure from world-number one Lee Westwood to complete a wire-to-wire victory at the US$7 million WGC-HSBC Champions on Sunday.

The Italian carded a flawless five-under-par 67 for a four-day total of 19-under-par 269 to land his first victory since he last triumphed at the Italian Open in 2006.

World number one Westwood, who matched Molinari’s final round 67, will continue to stay at the summit of the game after taking second place with his 270 total while Scotland’s Richie Ramsay posted a 71 to take a share of third place alongside England’s Luke Donald on matching 279s.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy closed with his week’s best score of 67 to take fifth place while world number two Tiger Woods and three-time Major winner Ernie Els of South Africa are among the seven players bunched in equal sixth on 281.

It was the Italian who stole the limelight at the Sheshan International Golf Club after so much had been made about the tussle for the number one world ranking this week.

Molinari, who became the first wire-to-wire winner in the history of the WGC-HSBC Champions, maintained his composure all week to end his four year title drought.

“I'm obviously amazed with the way I played, and you know, to have the number one player in the world trailing you by one shot, it's not easy,” said Molinari.

“I was under pressure all the time, pretty much from the first round. I'm just really, really happy. It's been a long way coming. But a lot of people told me, "If you have to wait this long, it's going to be a special one, and in the end, they were probably right,” added the Italian.

Play was suspended for about an hour due to heavy fog in the morning. But once it commenced, it was Molinari who fired the first salvo with three birdies in his first five holes. He carded another birdie on the eighth hole to reach the turn in 34.

Meanwhile Westwood also got off well by marking his card with four birdies in his outward-nine.

However when the Englishman birdied his 10th hole to move within one shot of Molinari, it was left to the birdie at the par-four 16th which would proved decisive for the Italian.

“I think the turning point was definitely at the 16th hole. It was probably the second shot that I hit to put Lee under pressure. His chip wasn't easy already, and with my ball close to the hole, it made it even tougher for him,” said Molinari.

Westwood was left to rue yet another near-miss in a high-profile tournament, but will have the consolation of knowing that his week's work will see his lead at the top of the official world golf rankings increase.

“I hit a lot of good shots and a couple of poor ones today. I also had a bit of bad luck. It was one of those things. I mean, 18‑under par and nine shots clear of the third is never too bad,” said Westwood.

“I just needed the breaks to win and but didn't happen. It was all about trying to win this week. The rankings come as a consequence of playing well, and I'm playing well and I know I am. Today is just very typical of how I've played for the last two years,” added the world number one.

Leading final round scores
269 - Francesco Molinari (ITA) 65-70-67-67
270 - Lee Westwood (ENG) 66-70-67-67
279 - Luke Donald (ENG) 68-70-68-73, Richie Ramsay (SCO) 69-68-71-71
280 - Rory Mcilroy (NIR) 71-71-71-67
281 - Ernie Els (RSA) 72-65-71-73, Fredrik Andersson Hed (SWE) 69-71-71-70, Paul Casey (ENG) 73-71-67-70, Peter Hanson (SWE) 73-69-70-69, Tiger Woods (USA) 68-72-73-68, Richard Green (AUS) 72-68-73-68, Retief Goosen (RSA) 70-74-69-68
282 - Jaco Van Zyl (RSA) 71-66-72-73, Ian Poulter (ENG) 70-70-73-69, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 67-74-72-69
283 - Ross Fisher (ENG) 69-70-69-75, Noh Seung-yul (KOR) 67-72-71-73, Padraig Harrington (IRL) 70-70-70-73, Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 74-70-67-72, Pablo Martin (ESP) 68-73-71-71

Selected scores
286 - Martin Kaymer (GER) 72-69-74-71
289 - Ryo Ishikawa (JPN) 72-71-71-75, Phil Mickelson (USA) 69-71-76-73

For further information, please visit www.hsbcgolf.com

Lee Westwood lost by one stroke....