No. 1 Westwood 1 shot behind leader at HSBC
SHANGHAI In his first tournament at No. 1 in the world and having played only one event in three months, Lee Westwood was not sure what to expect out of his game at the HSBC Champions.
Being one shot behind Francesco Molinari going into the weekend was a pleasant surprise.
Molinari built a big lead early before stumbling to a couple of bogeys, then held on for a 2-under 70 that gave him a one-shot lead over Westwood today after two rounds of this World Golf Championship.
Sheshan International is not particularly suited to the Italian’s game because it’s long and he’s not. But he found his way around and finished 36 holes at 9-under 135.
Ernie Els got a small measure of redemption on the 18th hole and finished with a birdie for a 65, putting him among those two shots behind.
Tiger Woods remains in the mix, although not nearly as close as he would like. Woods struggled with his swing and on the greens, so frustrated at the end of his round that he kicked his driver after a poor shot on the 18th. He still managed a 72, and will go into the weekend five shots out of the lead.
“My score could have been worse,” Woods said. “But it also could have been a lot better.”
Defending champion Phil Mickelson had a 71 and was at 4-under 140, while PGA champion Martin Kaymer had a 69 and was another shot behind.
With all the attention on the “Big Four” in Shanghai — Westwood, Woods, Kaymer and Mickelson all have a chance to go to No. 1 this week — Molinari keeps plodding along.
“I think it’s really exciting for everyone watching that one of the four guys could be No. 1 in the world at the end of the week,” Molinari said. “But for us, it doesn’t really make a difference. We play together with them, against them, pretty much week in and week out. So I think everyone is really just focusing on improving his ranking rather than seeing who is going to be on top.”
Westwood made sure he stayed plenty close.
He was rarely under much stress, except for one tee shot that bounded into the trees along the left side of the 11th fairway that led to his lone bogey. But he bounced back with birdies on the par-5 14th, and by hitting a driver onto and just over the 288-yard 16th for another simple birdie.
