McDowell Starts Out Hot at HSBC Champions


Thanks to five birdies on his front nine Graeme McDowell got rolling early in the first round of the WGC-HSBC Champions. The $8 million event got underway Thursday at Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China.

McDowell, who began play on the 10th tee, could have had a spectacular outing but after those five birdies cooled down the rest of the way with two birdies and two birdies for a 5-under 67. Nonetheless, the 35-year-old Northern Irishman enjoys a two-stroke lead as the field struggled with wind conditions and some tight fairways.

"Yeah, good start," said McDowell, who makes his home in the Orlando area. "Obviously the course played fairly difficult today. Wind direction had switched completely from practice, fairly strong and a bit chilly. Some of the game plan had switched a little bit and some of the holes were playing pretty long.

"But a big key to this golf course is driving the ball well. I drove it very well today. I think I missed only one fairway, which is very important. Set up a few opportunities. And the greens are in fantastic shape and I actually putted very well. So 7 under par through 12 holes was a beautiful start, and you know, dropped a couple coming in. But all in all, very, very pleased with 5 under par on what I thought was a reasonably tricky day."

Trailing by two are three Americans - Rickie Fowler, Brandt Snedeker and Chris Kirk - along with England's Tommy Fleetwood, South African Tim Clark and Germany's Martin Kaymer.

Snedeker agreed with McDowell that accuracy is a must at the venue. "Rough is very, very thick and hard to hit fairways here. If you can hit fairways, you can shoot a good score but if you don't, you're going to struggle. With the wind blowing the way it was today, tough to keep the ball in the short grass off the tee. So was able to do that relatively well and that's why I shot a good one so hopefully I can keep doing that."

Ten players carded 2-under 70s, including major champions Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen, 2014 European Ryder Cup teammates Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson, and Americans Bill Haas, Jordan Spieth and J.B. Holmes.

Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson opened with a 71.

Other scores included a 74 by Sergio Garcia, a 77 by Joost Luiten and an 80 by Billy Horschel, all players coming off excellent seasons.

Kevin Stadler withdrew after two holes, citing a wrist injury. Graham DeLaet pulled out midway through the first round because of a neck injury. The Canadian was 9-over through nine holes before withdrawing.

For all the scores, visit http://www.worldgolfchampionships.com/hsbc-champions/leaderboard.html.