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| OneAsia |
After a close look at the Montgomerie Course at Nanshan International Golf Club in coastal Shandong province on Wednesday, the pair Clarke and Charl Schwartzel said it was playing longer and tighter than expected, adding conditions would suit local players familiar with the links-style layout.
The latest stop on the OneAsia circuit comes with a U.S. $1 million purse -- the richest men's tournament in the Asia-Pacific this week -- and players are jockeying for position on the money list as the year draws to a close.
Several of China's top players -- including veteran Zhang Lianwei -- have spent over a week at the course preparing for battle, and if the wind picks up it could blow in their favour.
"It's actually tougher than I expected. The fairways are quite narrow and you've got to shape some shots," said Schwartzel, the 2011 U.S. Masters champion, who arrived late Tuesday after being part of the International Team that lost to the United States in the Presidents Cup at the weekend.
"I think if the wind comes up it will be a really tough test. Hopefully they'll cut the fairways down a little bit because they're fairly long. It'll help a little bit, because if you're hitting flyers out of the fairways, that's not nice."
Schwartzel, the world number 19, said he expected an easy transition from the mindset of playing team matchplay in Ohio last weekend to individual stroke play in Nanshan.
"It's tougher the other way around," the South African said. "We play a lot of stroke play and not much match play, so this way is a lot easier."
Northern Ireland's 2011 Open Champion, agreed the layout provided a stiff challenge.
"I think the course is very demanding. It's playing long because the fairways are soft and the greens have a lot of undulation in them.
"Off the back tees we're having to hit four irons, five irons, six irons … long to medium irons into the green to try and get to the flag. The greens are a little bit slow, but they're pure and I expect them to speed up by the weekend."
The pair of Major winners will not have it all their own way this week with all four of OneAsia's previous Order of Merit title winners in the field -- Scott Strange, Liang Wenchong, Andre Stolz and Kim Bi-o.
Kim won the inaugural Nanshan China Masters and Liang is the defending champion, although both editions were held on the nearby Danling Course, another jewel in the sprawling Nanshan International Golf Club's treasure chest which boasts an astonishing 279 holes in total.
Nanshan is also home to the China Golf Association's National Training Centre, which is grooming the next generation of stars -- including Guan Tianlang, who stunned the golf world by making the cut at the U.S. Masters in April at just 14.
Several young amateurs have earned slots in this week's field via qualifying, and Clarke said he was "very impressed" with the state-of-the-art facilities and the calibre of players being produced by China.
"The Chinese moving into golf en-masse has been a more recent development but with their proud history in the Olympics it looks like they've decided to try and win some medals in golf as well," he said.
"With the facility they have created there, I think the kids, the Chinese players of the future, will definitely be fighting for Olympic honours."
