American Daniel Im said it all when asked to describe the weather conditions for yesterday's opening round of the Volvo China Open international qualifying at Discovery Bay: 'Horrendous'.
Gale-force winds, driving rain and a sub-10 degree Celsius temperature hounded the players throughout the morning. Although the rain eased off during the late afternoon, the bitterly cold wind kept the players company.
Im, who lives in La Mirada, California, shot a best-of-the-day three-over-par 75, but said he could have scored better.
'Despite the weather I hit the ball really well and holed some good putts at crucial times,' said Im, 24. 'I hit my tee shot out of bounds on the seventh, but other than that I kept things very much under control.'
Im is familiar with the challenging 6,775-yard Discovery Bay course, having qualified there two years ago to win a place at CBD Golf Club in Beijing where he missed the halfway cut by just one shot.
'I three-putted the final green at CBD from about 10 feet to miss by one, so if I make it to Suzhou next month I plan to go one better this time,' said Im, who plays mostly on the Canadian Tour.