Weekly Tour Wrap Up #6th Nov

A selection of PGA and European Tour stars made the long trip to China last week, with one of the game's most colourful characters triumphing in a field containing seven of the world's top ten players.

At the WGC-HSBC Champions, a European Ryder Cup hero won his second World Golf Championship event after surging through the field with a pair of 65s over the weekend.

Poulter Prevails in China

Ian Poulter caught fire over the weekend to post a 21-under -par total and finish two clear of a four-strong group at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzen, China.

Jason Dufner, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson and Scott Piercy finished in a tie for second on 19-under-par, with Lee Westwood and Lee Westwood one stroke further adrift.

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who played an exhibition match on Monday, elected to skip the tournament, but they weren't missed as the Olazabal Course was subjected to a barrage of birdies and eagles from some of the best in the business.

Oosthuizen and Adam Scott started off well, and led after round one after a pair of 65s. Peter Hanson - who had won two of his last three events - Portugal Masters champion Shane Lowry, Bubba Watson and two-time WGC-HSBC champion Phil Mickeson were all in a tie for second place on six-under-par.

The leaderboard was congested after round one, but the South African opened up a significant lead after 36 holes courtesy of a sublime nine-under-par 63.

The 2010 Open Champion was one-over-par after three holes, but he played his next nine holes in eight-under-par before further birdies at 15 and 16 took him five clear of the field.

His 63 was matched by compatriot Els, who sat in a tie for second alongside Scott (68) on 11-under-par after two rounds.

Els flew out of the blocks on Friday, making birdies at six of his first seven holes en route to a bogey-free round. He and Scott entered the weekend one clear of Dufner and Lowry, with Mickelson and Dustin Johnson a short further back on 10-under-par.

Low scoring continued over the weekend, and Tour Champion and FedEx Cup winner Brandt Snedeker took things to the next level on Saturday.

Starting his third round a staggering 15 shots behind the leader, he birdied his four first holes before adding two more and seven and nine to turn in 30.

After 13 holes, he was eight under for his round, which became ten after he knocked his approach to five feet at the 555-yard par-5 15th and holed the subsequent eagle putt.

Two birdies followed on the par-4 16th and par-3 17th, and standing on the 18th tee, he knew one more would hand him the European Tour's first 59.

His 25-foot birdie putt just slid past the hole, but Snedeker had produced one of the rounds of the year to put himself back in contention.

At the top of the leaderboard, Oosthuizen, as is so common after a low round, was struggling for any momentum. He turned in 35 and came back in the same score to post an 18-under-par 54-hole total and let a host of players back into the tournament.

He had also lost outright possession of the lead, thanks to another remarkable round of golf.

Lee Westwood started the day nine shots back, but a Saturday 61 – which included 11 birdies and no bogeys – saw him end the day in a tie for the lead.

Phil Mickelson was three back on 15-under-par, with Els (69), Bill Haas (66) and Poulter (65) sharing fourth place one shot behind the left-hander.

On Sunday, Westwood made a great start with birdies at three and four, but followed them with a costly double at the par-3 5^th. He would bounce back with birdies at six and eight, though, and turn in 34 on 20-under-par.

He led by one from Mickelson and two from playing partner Oosthuizen, who turned in a lackluster 36, and Poulter, who carded four birdies and no bogeys to move into contention.

Westwood started the back nine with two bogeys in three holes, and found himself two behind Poulter after the Ryder Cup hero birdied 10 and 11.

He added another pair of birdies at 14 and 15 to reach 22-under-par, two clear of Mickelson. Both he and Poulter bogeyed 17, but with Oosthuizen not threatening and Westwood falling backwards with another bogey at 15, a par on 18 looked as if it would be enough for the Londoner.

He wasn’t making things easy for himself, though. He found sand with his approach to the last and played an average bunker shot, leaving 10 feet for par.

His putting had been fantastic all day, and he calmly rolled it home to post 21-under-par. No one behind could catch up, leaving Poulter to celebrate a second World Golf Championship title and arguably the best five weeks of his career.

Next week, McIlroy returns to action at the Singapore Open, while the last event of the PGA Tour, the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic, takes place in Florida.