By Will Pearson, europeantour.com
in Hong Kong
Ahead of this week’s UBS Hong Kong Open, the final event of the year, europeantour.com explores ever-present host venue Hong Kong Golf Club with the help of former champion, 2009 winner Gregory Bourdy.
Frenchman Bourdy, who held off a charging, youthful Rory McIlroy to take the spoils here seven years ago for what was then his third European Tour win, finished 35th in The 2016 Race to Dubai after accruing a career-record €1.06m last season and returns to ‘The Pearl of the Orient’ full of fond memories.
First established on a different site in 1889 as Royal Hong Kong Golf Club, the club moved to its current Fanling location just north of the city centre in 1911 before the ‘New Course’, designed by LS Greenhill, was officially opened in 1931.
This year hosting the Hong Kong Open for a 58th straight year – only Augusta and the Masters and Crans-sur-Sierre and the European Masters can compare – Hong Kong Golf Club has over the last few years been used as a composite course between holes from the New and Eden Courses.
Not long by modern standards at 6,699 yards and a par of 70, Hong Kong Golf Club is a narrow, tree-lined layout and a traditional challenge through and through.
Overview
“It’s one of my favourite tournaments. I won here in 2009, which feels like last year but I’m told it was seven years ago,” said the 34 year old, who has also finished tied 11th here twice – in 2006 and 2010 – in addition to his win in 2009.
“I love the course, it’s a real old-fashioned golf course. Nowadays we play a lot of modern courses that are long and require a lot of power whereas when you come here you see a different type of course, a shorter one.
“By the end of the week you will have almost every club in the bag off the tee. There is a lot of drivers, three woods, long irons, all designed to navigate the doglegs and set you up for your approach.
“You have to be a good ball striker and able to control your trajectories, shaping the ball around and below the tree line.”
The Greens
He continued: “The grain on the greens here makes putting a little more difficult than normal. You really have to study the greens and putt well if you’re going to finish high up here.”
Avoiding The Rough
“The key is finding the fairways,” said Bourdy. “The only way to hit a lot of greens here is to get in the fairway off the tee. The rough is not easy, both off the fairway and around the green so keeping it on the short stuff is definitely important.”
The Key Hole
“The 18th is an amazing finishing hole, one of the best on Tour for sure,” he said. “Like the rest of the course it is not all that long but tight, you need to hit a good drive or it’s almost impossible to reach the green.
“You don’t need to hit driver but it’s still a tough hole with an iron or a three wood. If you find the middle of the green and two-putt, you’ll walk off the course happy with a four.”
The City
“It’s one of my favourite tournaments both on and off the course,” Bourdy concluded. “I love Hong Kong and look forward to coming back each year. This year me and my wife are staying in the city and it’s great to be a part of the atmosphere. There’s so many amazing restaurants and bars with amazing views of the skyline and surrounding area.”
It's one of my favourite tournaments - I love Hong Kong.
Gregory Bourdy
How it played last time
Although not a lengthy layout, as referenced earlier, there are some testing holes at Hong Kong Golf Club including a glut of tricky par fours.
Indeed, the two hardest holes on the course last time out, in October 2015, were the 493-yard par four ninth, which averaged 4.44 and claimed 176 bogeys or worse, and the famous 410-yard par four 18th finishing hole, which came in at 4.28.
On the flip side, the 529-yard par five 13th – one of just two par fives on the course – ranked the easiest hole last year, giving up 11 eagles and 236 birdies at an average of 4.46.
Champion here 14 months ago following rounds of 65-66-64-68, Justin Rose carded one of those eagles plus two birdies on the 13th in 2015 so expect some serious scoring here.
