Our man in Shanghai brings you a behind the scenes look at the goings-on in the fourth and final World Golf Championship event of the 2009 season - the WGC-HSBC Champions.....

What a Caddie On….
One of the highlights of the week in Sheshan is the annual Caddie Awards Night, kindly laid on by HSBC in the tournament hotel which is adjacent to the golf course.
The crowning of Lee Westwood’s caddie Billy Foster as Caddie of the Year is well documented elsewhere on this website but there were other, how shall we say, different awards for 2009 handed out too.
We will not go into them all to save the respective gentlemen’s blushes, but two we’ll pick out are; the ‘Best Comeback of the Year Award’ went to David Johnstone, who was on the bag of Michael Jonzon when he won the 1997 Portuguese Open and, remarkably, returned to Johnson’s side when he won in Spain two weeks ago; while the ‘Funniest Moment of the Year Award’ went to Thomas Levet’s caddie Ken Herring. After running for 35 singles during the caddies’ annual cricket match at Loch Lomond in July, apparently the sight of poor Ken trying to walk down the range to catch up with his man the next day was quite something to behold.

Tongue-Thaid……
Of all the players in golf, it is probably fair to say that Tiger Woods gets asked more questions than most on a daily basis.
It is also fair to say that the World Number One has heard most of them in his time in front of microphones but one did catch him off guard a little after his second round at Sheshan.
Having played with Thongchai Jaidee and having Thai roots himself, Tiger was asked whether he had had the chance to brush up on his Thai during the first two rounds.
Amid some laughter, Tiger revealed that conversations between the two had taken place in English before adding, “Most of the words I know (in Thai) are not the good words!”

Chariots of Fire……
The official tournament starter caused a little giggle around the first tee the other day when he announced the official observers walking with one of the featured groupings in the WGC-HSBC Champions were two gentlemen called ‘Mr Ben’ and ‘Mr Hur’.
Granted, most people were oblivious to it all but those of us of a certain age couldn’t resist a little chuckle at the thought of Charlton Heston rolling off the end of the first tee on a chariot…..

Well done Shane….!
Shane Lowry has achieved a lot of things in his relatively short time on The European Tour, but one Chinese photojournalist elevated him to new heights this week in Shanghai.
When asked why he appeared so keen to take a picture of the young man from County Offaly after his opening round at Sheshan, the eager scribe replied: “Because he won The Open Championship.”
It is fair to say he was a little crestfallen when he was informed that that was, in fact, Paul Lawrie and not Shane Lowry.
But to be fair to the chap, he took Shane’s picture regardless….

Ping Pong Passion……
During the recent Ryder Cup ‘Year to Go’ celebrations in Wales, US Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin made much of the fact that the US players love nothing more than indulging in a bit of table tennis to pass the time when gathered together on team occasions.
Well, I have news for Corey; some of Europe’s top players are no slouches when it comes to the art of ping pong either.
Adjacent to the gym in the tournament hotel is a room with a table tennis table in it and I was fortunate enough to watch the closing stages of the unofficial Spanish Ping Pong Championship the other night between Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño and Alvaro Quiros.
A quick glance at The Race to Dubai shows that both men are pretty handy on the golf course but I can report they are no slouches either with a ping pong paddle in their hands and would certainly be a match for the US’s best.
After a tense five set battle I can reveal the champion turned out to be Snr Quiros but, in many ways, the sport of table tennis was the winner.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the resulting clash between your correspondent and Tournament Director David Probyn……….

A Great Lift……..
One of the great things about the event is that, every year, HSBC try to introduce new ideas to bring the surroundings of the golf course and the hotel to life.
This year, one of the innovations has seen all the lift doors in the main tournament hotel – the adjacent Meridien Sheshan – adorned with huge pictures of the star players which slide obligingly open to let you enter.
As well as providing an interesting talking point, it also provides the opportunity for small wagers with colleagues as to whose lift will take you to your slumbers each evening.
So far Padraig Harrington’s elevator appears to be the most popular with three trips although I have to report I have hitched a ride with Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia too this week, while Lee Westwood took me to breakfast this morning.