Inside the ropes
Now that was a gallery. Sprawling, eclectic, well behaved, knowledgeable, sexy and ever so grateful. And well they should be. When was the last time the reigning US Open champion, not to mention the reigning Ryder Cup hero, managed to show up for the Hong Kong Open? According to a person close to player negotiations, Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell was offered significantly more money to play in the Dunlop Phoenix Championship in the southern Japanese island of Miyazaki this week.
Of course, McDowell was certainly interested in garnering more points in Hong Kong for the Race to Dubai, next week's penultimate and lucrative finishing event on the European Tour where he currently stands second. But Martin Kaymer, Lee Westwood and Francesco Molinari are also in the top four for Dubai and there was no sign of them this week. McDowell wanted to be here for more than financial reasons; a fact that warms even the most cynical soul.
He repeatedly, and unprovoked, articulated his love for Hong Kong at every turn this past week which is why I am fighting every urge here to gush too effusively.
But the simple truth is McDowell seems completely oblivious to the fact he is one of the biggest stars in golf right now and let's all hope he never figures that out. This man is an absolute credit to the game and accordingly had a swelling legion of admirers all set to root him on to victory.
Unfortunately, a bogey on the first hole put him on his heels from the get-go and he never seriously challenged, finishing at 19 under par, three strokes back of eventual champion Ian Poulter.
His spotty form also took the steam out of a colourful gallery that was looking for a reason, any reason, to explode, yet was effectively muted for most of the day.
'Yeah it was a cold start,' McDowell said. 'But 22 under is a fantastic return on any golf course. That's better than a 65 average. Ian's a great player and it's great to see him back in the winner's circle. Personally, I am very happy with my week. I was disappointed with my start today, but no disappointments in general this week.'