By Will Pearson, europeantour.com
at Sheshan International
Ahead of the second part of the 2014 Final Series, the WGC-HSBC Champions, europeantour.com explores host venue Sheshan International Golf Club with the help of Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell.
As the tournament this week celebrates its tenth anniversary since England’s David Howell won the first edition back in 2005, the event again returns to Sheshan and the 7,261-yard par 72 layout designed by Neil Haworth of Nelson & Haworth.
Located just outside the western reaches of the bustling metropolis that is Shanghai’s famous centre, Sheshan delivers a real sense of peace and tranquillity – a remarkable trait given the sheer size of the city and its almost-24-million strong population which live in the surrounding area.
Set in the shadow of the Basilica of our Lady of Sheshan cathedral amidst gently-undulating hills, ancient woodland and serene waterways, this is the ninth time that Sheshan International has hosted the HSBC Champions and fifth since it became a World Golf Championships event in 2009.
Some of the trees which line much of the aesthetically pleasing layout are more than 1,000 years old Gingko and water comes into play on no fewer than 11 holes, while the resort is framed by Italian Tuscan-style villas constructed from the same authentic materials as the ivy-clad clubhouse.
The resort has hosted all-but one of the nine previous editions of the tournament and returned to Sheshan last year after one year in southerly Shenzhen, and former US Open Champion McDowell has enjoyed a healthy record at the venue, having finished third here in both 2011, when Martin Kaymer triumphed, and last year as Dustin Johnson prevailed.
“This is a great layout and a great event,” said McDowell, who comes into the second event of the Final Series sitting 16th in The Race to Dubai and looking for a strong finish to force his way into the $5million Bonus Pool.
“HSBC do a fantastic job. They are one of The European Tour’s strongest sponsors and with 40 of the top 50 in the world here so a quality, deep field and it should be a great week.”
Overview
“This is a good golf course here, I really enjoy it,” continued McDowell. “The greens are always awesome. It normally plays pretty soft so you can be quite aggressive with your iron play and the scoring is normally pretty low. There are good risk-reward par fives and an exciting finish so it has a real balance of everything: short par fours, long par fours and those all-important tempting holes which make for some exciting golf.”
Greens
“The greens are big but the undulations are nicely put together. Some modern golf courses get a little overdone with too much undulation but I think these are just nice, big, generous but still with a premium on finding the right parts of them. The surfaces are always fantastic. We’ve been coming here for a number of years now and I really enjoy it. The quality of golf course manufacturing in China is pretty world-class with USGA-spec and so they are very good.”
Key Holes
The 16th: 288-yard par four
“I’d have to say the finish is key to success here at Sheshan. There are lots of options at 16 with a lot of guys probably hitting five and six irons off the tee to set up a yardage into the green. But then you look at Dustin Johnson and the way he played that hole last year in the final round with an aggressive long iron off the tee just up short and then chipping it in for a pivotal moment. You’ll have guys hitting drivers up by the green, everything. A very good risk-reward par four with plenty of danger to the right.”
The 18th: 538-yard par five
“A lot of water around the green at 18. Another key tee shot: if you can get yourself into position with your drive you can make yourself threes and fours but if you make a mistake, if you stray a bit, if you get a bit wayward, then you can very easily make sixes or sevens.”
How it played last year
Made up of four par fives, ten par fours and four par threes, there are 82 bunkers across the course at Sheshan and, as mentioned previously, water comes into play on 11 of the 18 holes.
The longest hole on the course is the eighth at 603 yards while the joint shortest are the fourth and sixth holes, which both come in at precisely 200 yards, while 2011 winner Kaymer holds the course record after firing a sublime 62 last year.
Over the last three editions of the HSBC Champions held at Sheshan – in 2010, 2011, and 2013 – the short 17th hole has ranked the hardest, averaging 0.27 over par, while the easiest hole on the course has proved to be the par five second, averaging 0.46 under par.
In the same period, the average winning score has been 21 under par, so low scoring could once again be the order of the day at the WGC-HSBC Champions.
