Well, this is a new experience to write home about!!
Before Italy I really did not know where I would be playing next, but I knew a good week out there may well give me a chance to continue playing a few of the final events on the Challenge Tour.
So to make the cut in Rome and finish T25th kept me inside that all important top 70 on the OOM and pushed me into the field for both the events in China.
That was the great news …but then I had to find a way of getting there, cost effectively, and with a VISA …
But cost effectively was never going to happen, and when you add up the costs for the two weeks before all the hidden extras you forget about, I was already up to a grand total of £1800 before I had even eaten … saying that, I’m not sure I want to eat some of the things that will be on offer …
That cost includes hotel, flights, transfers, trains, VISAs, petrol, parking and entry fees …
But I had to take the chance! It’s a good opportunity to push up the OOM as the money in the event is increased and only 60-ish Challenge Tour players are playing each week with the fields being filled with local Chinese players.
Now planning how I got there became the tricky bit … with not enough time to file and collect a VISA from the Chinese embassy in Manchester, my management company MB Partners worked their magic.
Sunday morning I drove down to Heathrow for a 12.30pm flight to Hong Kong, then after a 12 hour flight and a 7 hour time difference, I landed in HK airport at 7am and headed straight to the VISA office to be the first in the queue to submit my VISA request, and then hopefully (fingers crossed) have it complete to collect 12 hours later before an evening flight to Chongqing in China.
And what a different 12 hour wait in the airport it was, too …
7.30am – 5 hour sleep on a bench – great fun!
12.30pm – followed by 2 hours in Starbucks
2.30pm – but then I treated myself … I checked into a lounge with a bed, shower and food! – for three hours before having to collect my VISA and check in for my evening flight.
I’m pretty sure my body clock had no idea what was going on when I woke up Tuesday morning at 8.30am to go and play a practice round …
… this could be a long two weeks!
The course and the week’s golf:
It was pretty good really! Quite open, challenging in parts, but I thought that weather permitting the scoring should be pretty decent as there were plenty of holes where you have wedge in your hand for the approach to the green which always provides many birdies.
So after playing Tuesday and a full day of practice Wednesday, I was all set for the first round, which, after receiving my tee time of 8.50am, I soon realised it was going to be a very lonely, quiet day …
Playing with Gui-ming Liao & Haochuan Wu, and with all of us having Chinese caddies, I didn’t think I would get to say much …
ROUND 1:
I really did play well!
I hate the rain, and it rained all day, so it was nice to control the ball well and post a decent score. I just made one compounded error which resulted in a double bogey but I know I gave myself plenty of chances and to do that again in round 2 I was sure I would hole more putts!
The next 24 hours were pretty crazy, and as you will know from previous blogs, the Challenge Tour seem to love a weather delay!
Luckily I was out early and finished in decent time, but then the cloud cover became heavy and the light faded and the players were taken off the course. Friday was now in the lap of the gods after seeing the forecast, and as it turned out they only just got the 1st round completed on Friday.
So that meant I never got to start my 2nd round and had a day of leisure … practice, gym, physio, food, coffee, more food and sleep!
The cut was also changed to Top 50 and ties, and after only 1 round, so I was safely through to the ‘weekend’ (level par 72) but we still didn’t know if we would get to play 54 holes as it looked more likely to be 36….
ROUND 2:
Waking up Saturday morning to see no cloud cover felt like a miracle! We managed to play the day out with no problems, the only problem that day was me struggling to make a par!
I woke up feeling terrible with a shocking head cold, sneezing everywhere, and I really needed one of those Chinese face masks!!
So, a few mental errors in the first six holes, but three birdies cancelled out my three bogeys and I was still in a good position after 9 holes after making birdie there to turn in -1.
I played nice and solid on the front nine giving myself plenty of chances, but only making two birdies to one bogey meant I signed for a 70 (-2) which actually moved me down the board 8 places!! Which just proves again it’s a tough school out on the Challenge Tour.
The rest of the afternoon was spent resting, blowing my nose, sneezing and then seeing the Tour physio again to work a miracle on my sore knee and sore lower back, which have been giving me some pain over the last few months!
I guess this all comes with nearly being 30, and chasing my daughter around and, as Steve Tooby would say, “Chris, you’re getting old!”.
FINAL ROUND:
Again I played really solid and it’s always nice to go bogey free! Only once I looked in trouble plugging it in the bunker on 13, but holing a 15ft putt is always a nice way to save par!!
(70 -2) Finished T26th
A massive positive for me over the last two rounds was that I only missed two fairways with driver, for me that is massive progress and a huge confidence boost going into the second leg of the China swing!
(click to enlarge photos)
So, somehow the tournament managed to finish Sunday afternoon even though it was only 54 holes, and then the travelling began again the following morning.
So, that evening myself and my roommate grabbed a taxi and headed into Chongqing to see the city. A 25 minute taxi ride only cost £3.50 and we were in the heart of a hugely built up city! Lots of skyscrapers, bright lights, shopping malls and thousands of people!
I have travelled a lot of the world and it’s the first place I have been to where I saw no other nationality other than Chinese … we really looked out of place, and we towered above them all!
The following morning we were up early for a flight South to Foshan city, followed by an hour’s bus ride to the course for a light afternoon of practice and to start preparing for the second and last event in China.
Hopefully, I will have another positive week to write about