The Caddie's Role:We were in that very special area of China that we have always known as Hong Kong last week. The 49th Hong Kong Open was held in the Fanling area which, situated in the New Territories, is much closer to Shenzhen on the mainland than Hong Kong Island.
There have, of course, been tournaments that have run in longer succession than 49 years but none of them can boast having been played at the same venue like the Hong Kong Golf Club can. The Royal was dropped 10 years ago when Britain handed back control of the former colony to the Chinese.
They have left the fascinating city in safe hands judging by last week's experience. It has the energy of a bustling Chinese metropolis with the feeling of organisation that only the British could leave. It seems like a very comfortable combination.
The Hong Kong golf club is like a last bastion of colonialism where the ex-pat members, in true ex-patriot fashion, seem more British than the British themselves. There was something of a holiday atmosphere on the veranda of the club with its sun umbrellas sheltering us in the above average November heat. Golfers and caddies sipped drinks and mingled freely in a manner than would not normally preside at a tournament.
Perhaps the fact that it was effectively the first event of the 2008 schedule for the European Tour and the worries of making or keeping your tour card are a year away helped calm the atmosphere. It was not the case for the Asian players in this Asian/European Tour combined event. Their season is drawing to a close and the race is on for those struggling to keep their playing right for next year.
It is probably one of the biggest differences between the two tours; it is hard to tell how the Asians are doing because they seem to have such a calm demeanour about them. Unlike their European counterparts who tend to be a little more intense.
In his traditional casual elegance I spotted the five times British Open champion Peter Thomson sitting on the balcony casting a sage eye over the putting green below where most of its putters would barely contemplate winning just one of the coveted majors. The 78-year-old Australian won his third and last Hong Kong Open in 1967 and was back this year as a guest of honour.
Arnold Palmer is credited with being the original superstar golfer to open up the sport and particularly to lure big sponsors to the game in America. Well the likes of Thomson were doing the same to a lesser degree on the other side of the Pacific rim.
Like all great golfers, Thomson had, and still has, an edge to him. He does not hold back in his comments about the modern game. So when he was questioned about the state of modern events whereby the great and the not so great get paid appearance fees simply to show up you can see a look of contempt in his bright eyes. He maintains that he paid his own air-fare to play in Hong Kong back in the 1960s. He says he never accepted appearance fees, and considers it immoral to receive an appearance fee.
I suppose Ernie Els' comment a few weeks back about top players enjoying the silly golf season of trawling the globe in private jets filling up their wheelbarrows full of appearance money made the moralist Thomson cringe. He feels it is difficult to keep your integrity intact with the exorbitant turn up fees on offer.
It must be pointed out that although Peter is not in competition with these global performers on the golf course he may well be when it comes to his course design business. He has already designed six courses in China alone. So the arrival of Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh in Asia may well be encroaching on the great man's plot.
Speaking of encroachment, Robert Karlsson played with the flamboyant Spaniard Miguel-Angel Jimenez in the third round of this year's Hong Kong Open. At the end of the day the Swede was four shots ahead of the Spaniard. They shook hands and Miguel jokingly said that he would be playing with Robert again in the final round and therefore would be breathing down his neck. Karlsson was quick to reply that he could handle that as long it was not red wine that he could smell as he did so. He was referring to the Andalucian's taste for the good life in a witty reply.
With a bit of a faux pas on the last hole the aroma of Spanish cigar smoke and fine Rioja prevailed over the odourless air around the muesli-eating, isotonic-drinking Swede. I wonder what the five times Open champion would have made of such irony.
