How low can you go? Maybe ask American Anthony Kang, who had to be feeling pretty good about himself after torching Fanling with a second round score of nine-under-par 61. But within a few hours Kang was a forgotten man when Ian Poulter trumped him with a 60 to set a course and tournament record. Well, kind of a record because with the preferred lies rule in effect it could not go in the books as an 'official' record.
But official or not, one thing is beyond interpretation: the players are slaying poor old Fanling. Poulter said that after shooting a 60 he was still disappointed with his score, which should tell you all you need to know about the course.
After three days of play there is only one player over par and that is Malaysia's Iain Steel, who somehow managed to shoot a 76 yesterday. Otherwise, even the most pedestrian rounds are scoring well, and if you are looking for one of the primary reasons, repeat after me: lift, clean and place.
From the broadcast booth, to the locker room, on over to the caddyshack, and the press tent, not to mention the fans in the gallery, the big question is why? There hasn't been rain for close to a month and if you dialled room service, you wouldn't have been able to order up more ideal weather and conditions. Yet players are being allowed to pick up and tidy their balls everywhere but in the sand traps.
'Some of the fairways are a bit inconsistent,' says Mikael Eriksson, the European Tour tournament director who made the call before round one. 'You could have two balls lying on the fairway next to each other and they could have different lies and that is what we avoid with lift, clean and place.'
For those of a more conspiratorial bent, low scores are certainly good for business and news of Poulter's 60 spread like wildfire through global golf circles.